The Sickness in the Anthropologist
by Sammi Marcs
Summary: My first fanfic! Centered around Booth and Brennan. Brennan gets sick. Set after Christine's birth. Please review! K plus just to be safe!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, this is my first fanfic! It's a Bones story centered around Booth and Brennan. Brennan gets sick. Set after Christine's birth. Please review!**

Booth strolled through the lab of the Jeffersonian looking for his partner, and the love of his life. He had been having a crappy day, and all he wanted was to see his Bones. Just look at her, her beautiful smile, her small hands, her thin, but curvy, figure, and listen to her honey-like voice telling him it was alright while holding his hand.

As he stopped at her office he breathed in her scent reveling in it for a moment as he stepped in. When he realized that her office was empty he frowned. She was almost always in her office, and he wondered where she was. He stepped up to the platform and his frowned deepened when he realized she wasn't there either. Suddenly he heard his name and felt a tap on his shoulder. "Hi Ange" he said as he turned to see the artist.

"Hey Booth. Bren wanted me to tell you she's gone home. She left Christine with me, so don't worry about that. She was feeling kind of rough, Booth. I'd go check on her." Booth had been worried about Brennan the past couple days. She was constantly tired, and her appetite had been steadily decreasing. In fact, he couldn't even remember if she had eaten anything in the past two or three days. Before she had met him this was normal, but due to his constant prodding and dragging her out of the lab to relax or get food, her food intake had increased. The past few days, he noticed she wouldn't even have a bowl of cereal or a bagel. His thoughts continued as he thought about her symptoms. The coughing, nausea, tiredness, slight shakiness, achiness, weakness, and loss of appetite, they all added up to a serious illness. He had tried to no avail to get her to go to the hospital and get checked out, or at least to refrain from work. All that had gotten him was a quick, "I'm fine, Booth. Don't worry", a kiss on the cheek and a stern look in her eyes that told him not to press her further. He had the feeling she must be terribly sick if she had finally agreed to go home. He was interrupted from his worrying thoughts by Angela's gentle clearing of her throat.

"Will do Ange. Thanks." And with that Booth set off to the house that he and his love shared.

"BONES!" Booth shouted as he entered their house. Walking up the stairs he repeatedly called her name. He stopped at the doorway of their bedroom, noticing a lump in the bed. He frowned at the distinct smell of vomit, sweat and tears coming from the room.

"Bones" he said softer than before. He leant down to the lump on the bed, and pulled the covers off her flawless face, revealing his Bones, pain written all over her gorgeous features. He stroked her hair and then her cheek, and kissed her from her forehead to her nose to her cheek to her lips. "Oh Bones" he whispered.

It was then that he noticed that she was wheezing on each inhale, struggling to breathe. She was pale and her feet, hands, and lips were freezing while her forehead and cheeks were burning up. "Jeez Bones!" he exclaimed as he felt her forehead. She didn't stir.

"Bones!" He said a little louder. "Bones wake up! Wake up Bones!"

Slowly her eyelids began to flutter as she looked up to him, and whispered on an exhale, "Booth…". He took the thermometer that lay on their bedside table and placed it gently in her ear. When it beeped he felt his face pale. It read "104.5". "Bones?" he whispered as he knelt down besides her and stroked her hair and cheeks again. "Bones we're going to the hospital. Okay?"

In a shaky exhale, Brennan whispered "Booth…no"

But Booth knew she needed to go to the hospital, so he wasted no time in gathering her up blanket and all, scooping her up, and heading out the door of their bedroom down the stairs, out the door of their house and into his car for the hospital. She was weakly holding onto his neck with her arms, still wheezing, her legs and feet dangling and her chest flush against his.

She whispered, "Tired…just want sleep, Booth…" This worried him further as he put her in a declined passenger seat. He rushed to the drivers seat and put on the siren as he sped to the hospital.

She continually whispered "Booth" and on her third "Booth" tried to grasp his hand, but missed. When he noticed, he took her hand and gripped it tightly with his. Although she tried to hold his hand just as tight, she found she was lacking the strength and energy to do so and just gave up, luxuriating in having his grip hers. When Booth saw her lack of strength he sped up even more and let out a sigh of relief when he saw the hospital come into view.

He pulled over, went to her side and gathered her up as he had previously in their bedroom and carried her to the emergency room.

"Hi I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan." He said making sure to emphasize special agent, FBI, partner, and Doctor.

"Yes. What seems to be the problem?" A young nurse asked from the desk, barely looking up from her computer.

"What do you think?!" Booth snapped. Realizing how his impatience might hurt the quality of care his partner might receive, he softened his tone. "She has a really high fever, is having trouble breathing, is coughing a lot, is extremely tired and weak, probably has thrown up, and is lacking energy and strength." He gave his partner a squeeze in his arms, hoping that his gesture reassured her, and when he felt her grasp on his neck become firmer he relaxed a bit.

"Of course. Come with me, sir." The nurse replied, leading him to a hospital room with a simple bed, chair, nightstand, and bathroom. She gestured to the bed, and Booth took this as his cue to put Brennan down.

He went over to the bed and placed her down, but her arms around his neck tightened as he tried to let her go. He looked into her eyes seeing apprehension, worry, fright, and weakness in them, and whispered, "I'm not going anywhere Bones" With this her grasp loosened, but he shifted her over, and laid down next to her, putting her head on his chest and rubbing her back with one hand as he held on to her hand with his other.

She let out a little whimper in the midst of her wheezing and his heart broke at the simple sound, which represented all the pain he knew she was feeling.

"Shhh…I'm right here. You're going to be okay. I love you. You are okay. You are okay." He whispered into her hair, the last statement more for him than for her. He could have sworn his heart skipped a beat when he heard her whisper a shaky, "I love you too, Booth." She tried to give his hand a squeeze, but was too exhausted, and fell into a deep sleep as her partner rocked her in his arms.

While Brennan slept, nurses and doctors were in and out of her room taking blood samples, and doing various tests, most of which Booth was not familiar with. He knew Brennan would be able to tell him if she was awake, but he wouldn't dare wake her from her finally peaceful sleep. As he was lost in his daydream, he noticed that Brennan's doctor was finally looking at him.

"Agent Booth?"

"Yes." Booth responded, thinking how it should be obvious who he was.

"You are Ms. Brennan's medical proxy, correct?"

"Yes." Booth said again, starting to become impatient. Sensing his impatience the doctor quickly continued.

"Ms. Brennan.." the doctor started.

"Doctor Brennan" Booth interrupted feeling that it was his responsibility to correct the doctor for his partner.

"Right, yes, Dr. Brennan has an acute case of scarlet fever, mixed with the flu and a chest infection." The doctor saw the young man in front of him wiggle, his eyes betraying his worry. "We would like to start her on strong antibiotics immediately, and she will need an oxygen tank, and should rest, and not work, for a long time. I must warn you that there is a strong chance that she may permanently lose some eyesight, hearing, and/or strength in her muscles. Please come in immediately if you start to notice some of these losses. I am very worried about these losses, and she needs your undivided attention. I think it is appropriate for you to take her home now." The doctor gave the young man a sad smile, which was not reciprocated.

"Scarlet fever? How is that possible? And are you sure she can go home? Is she going to be okay?" Booth asked worriedly. The doctor put his hand up trying to stop the flow of questions coming from the young agent.

"It is possible when she was younger she was never vaccinated. You are supposed to get vaccinated once as a baby, once as a child, and once as a teenager. It is possible she just missed a vaccination. She most definitely can go home." He took in the worried eyes of the agent once again. "well what are you waiting for! Take her home." He smiled again at the young man, who had started to gather his love once again and head home.

On the way home Booth began thinking. He wondered if she had the scarlet fever vaccination. He figured probably not the teen vaccination since that was when she was in foster care. His heart broke at this thought as he remembered her tragic story of being locked in a trunk for days after breaking a dish, and all the scars he had learned of, both emotional and physical, after they had gotten together. He had spent days helping her cope as she spill out all her secrets to him. He had realized many things about his "partner". She was the most caring, resilient, selfless, big-hearted, smart, and beautiful person he had ever met, and it would kill him if anything happened to her. "Nothing will happen to her now. I'll make sure of it. I'll take care of her if it's the last thing I do…" he muttered, looking at his fragile love lying in the passenger seat next to him. "I'm so sorry, Bones" he whispered gently taking her hands and brushing soft kisses along each knuckle.

His heart skipped a beat when he heard her whisper "not your fault, Booth." He nearly broke into tears right there and then, but her wheezing pulled him back to reality as he knew he had to stay strong in order to help her.

**How do you like it so far! Review please : )**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I hope I'm not being too nasty by making Brennan sick. I am not trying to be mean to her, but this is a story I have had stuck in my head. Also, I have no history in medicine, so don't hold it against me if the symptoms and diagnosis are completely off, because I wrote it this way for the story. Love Bones! Again reviews please : )**

After Booth had put Brennan to bed, he snuck out to make a few phone calls. Cam, Hacker and Cullen, Angela, and Rebecca were first on his list. All expressed their sympathy, but Booth had a feeling only Cam's and Angela's had been from their hearts. While Hacker had gone out with Brennan, Booth felt Hacker never deserved his Bones. Hacker was sneaky, always trying to make people think well of him. In fact, Booth couldn't remember ever thinking a man Brennan dated deserved her. Hacker, Mark, David, Stires, even Sully all just seemed to "use" her. Even her own father seemed to only pop in and out of her life when most convenient. Now that he thought about it, Booth realized he had been the only real constant intimate male figure in her life. This thought made Booth sad, but also contented and somewhat proud that he had been "the one" the stood by her no matter what. And as he walked back into the bedroom, looking over her fragile, but still beautiful, figure lying on the bed, he knew he would never leave her, nor would he regret it.

Climbing into bed besides Brennan, Booth was content on just watching her. Although it was obvious from her appearance that she was sick, pale with flushed cheeks, dark round circles under her eyes, and she had lost a bit of weight too, Booth wondered how she could look so beautiful all at the same time.

In the middle of the night, Brennan started tossing and turning, whimpering and sweating. Booth, assumed this was a nightmare, as he had gotten to know that for her, between her parents leaving her or Booth's fake death from a few years ago, nightmares were quite frequent. He began to shake her shoulders softly cooing to her, telling her everything was okay that he was here to stay, and that she needed to wake up. When she did finally wake up, she was obviously distressed, so he just decided to hold her. Soon, though, it became apparent that she wasn't calming down, so Booth decided he needed to hold her closer, if possible. He remembered something called "kangaroo care", which he had practiced with Christine when she was younger and Bones was working or sleeping.

He slowly took off his shirt, careful not to disrupt Brennan while doing so, and gingerly took her shirt off as well. Holding their bare bodies close together gave her more comfort, and her sobs began to subside, but not enough for Booth's liking. So, Booth scooped Brennan off the bed, and rocked her slowly, up and down and side to side, while pacing the side of the bed, like he would a small infant who was upset. Now, Brennan was almost completely quiet, except for her sniffling and wheezing, and Booth lowered them both to the bed, but continued to hold Brennan's bare chest flush against his. 'At least she can sense my being here' he thought hopefully. He gently stroked her hair and cheeks until she was back into a peaceful slumber, and allowed himself to fall asleep as well.

Booth was awakened by Brennan's soft hand stroking his cheek. He opened his eyes to find hers staring back, full of love, passion and understanding, but also full of pain. "Hi sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Brennan was slow to respond but eventually whispered, "I'm fine. Don't worry Booth" as her lips twitched slowly upwards. Something in this statement struck Booth in a sensitive area. "You are not fine, Bones. I don't care what you say. You need to know that you can trust me, that I am here for you, and I do not judge you. I know you are not weak, you are strong no matter what, I know that. But please, just tell me if you're feeling sick. I could have lost you…" Booth trailed off at the end.

Brennan seemed to be processing this statement, and gently leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I do trust you Booth. I just…" Brennan lowered her gaze, as if she was ashamed, and Booth prodded her to continue by gently lifting her chin so her eyes could meet his again. "Bones, what is it. You know you can tell me anything." Booth smiled at her. "I know that Booth." Brennan took a big breath, as big as she could under the circumstances, before continuing.

"It's just…When I was in foster care, if I was sick or hurt or acted weak in anyway, I was always punished. I would either get abused for being 'worthless' or 'useless' or 'weak' or I would get sent to another home, one that could potentially be worse. I guess these things just stick with me, even though I know you would never judge me. I trust you, Booth, I do. You would never hurt me. I know that. You have always been so kind and understanding and honest. You're the first person that has ever just listened to me. No names, no hurtful comments, no judging, no sympathy, just been there to help me. And I want you to know how grateful I am to have a best friend like you. I often wonder how any of those girls, Rebecca, Cam, Hannah… how could they have let such a strong, but gentle, man get away? But I'm glad they did, because now I have you. And I need you, and I love you."

Brennan finished with a kiss and a weak smile. Suddenly after that long speech, even though the words had come out in a whisper, she became very tired, and her eyelids began to droop. Booth noticed, and kissed her forehead. "I need you and love you, too Bones. I want you to really know and understand that. You're my best friend, too. And I don't know how any of those idiots could have been so unbelievably cruel to such a warm, loving, kind-hearted, brilliant, wonderful, absolutely amazing, beautiful person like you. You _are_ beautiful, Bones, inside and out. But now you need to sleep. We'll talk later, I promise, and I want you to know that no matter what you tell me, I will understand. I will." Brennan just nodded her head, and Booth kissed her forehead again as she nodded off.

**Sorry for the short chapter. I have a lot of summer work to do, but I plan to update every, or every other day, even if they are short chapters like this one. Let me know if you find any typos, or have any suggestions for the future of the story. Again, review please : )**


	3. Chapter 3

**Again thank you for the reviews. I hope you are enjoying the story as much as I am enjoying writing it. Just so you know, this takes place after the finale, because I need to write something where they are happy afterwards to keep convincing myself that they will be absolutely fine in the future. By the way, what do you think about the Bones finale? I'd love to hear your insights. Please review, again : )**

It was the next morning when Booth was up. Booth, knowing that Brennan hadn't eaten in a while, and was looking scary skinny, decided to make her breakfast. He knew that her nausea probably hadn't passed, but he was afraid of her getting malnourished, so he set himself on making her something bland and and light. He placed some bagels and fruit on a tray, and hurried back to their bedroom.

When he entered the room, he smiled as he saw her sleeping form. He went over to her, setting the tray on the nightstand, and leaning over, placing his hand on her head. He knelt down, and stroked her face, as he whispered, "Hey Bones. Got some breakfast. But I need you to wake up so you can eat." She muttered in response, "I can't eat. It'll make me sick. I'm not even hungry anyways." This worried Booth more, even though he knew she was trying to be calm. "Bones, you have to eat. You're going to starve. You've already lost so much weight. I mean, look at you. I can practically see your ribs. Please, eat." Booth nudged Brennan's lips with the bagel, hoping that she would open her mouth. Brennan just pursed her lips together and pulled her head back, avoiding the food like a stubborn child. "Oh Bones. Am I going to have to do airplane noises?" Booth sighed. "Please, Temperance, for me. Eat, please, I beg of you." That was all it took for Brennan. She opened her mouth, and allowed for the bagel's taste to enter her mouth. 'It's good. Maybe Booth is right. I mean, I have lost some weight.' Brennan thought, as she completely surrendered, eating the bagel. Booth clapped his hands happily. When she had finished the bagel, he leaned over and kissed her cheeks and nose, making her giggle. "Mmmm…I've missed that laugh. I love that laugh. You've got the greatest laugh, you know that, Bones?" Brennan looked at him with twinkly eyes full of love and gratefulness. "Thanks, Bones" Booth stated earnestly, kissing her on the lips this time. Brennan nodded, and said, "No. Thank you, Booth, for being you, and for always taking care of me. I don't know what I did to deserve you. I mean… I'm a foster kid, a girl, whose parents didn't even want to stay. And now, I have you. My Booth…" she whispered stroking his face with her hand.

"Oh Bones…you deserve me, more than I deserve you. It's those stupid foster parents, and possibly, your own parents, who didn't deserve you. And you take care of me, too, even if you don't know it. Just by being you, you can always brighten my day after a bad day at work. You know, before I found you home sick, I had gone to your office just to see you." Brennan looked confused at this statement. "Why, Booth?" Booth sighed. For a genius, his love and best friend could really be dense sometimes.

"Because, Bones. When I'm feeling low you always manage to make me feel better. For example, remember that hockey game where that team was hitting all my guys, and the referee kept missing all the cross checks, and I punched out a guy for hurting Wendell?" Brennan nodded, so Booth continued. "Well, I was upset when I was put in that stupid penalty box…" Brennan rolled her eyes. "More like a disciplinary box, Booth. And you were more than upset." Booth smiled, Brennan was starting to act more like herself. "Yeah, yeah whatever, Bones" Booth said, still smiling. Brennan smiled back, as Booth continued. "Anyways…I was in a really, really bad mood. But then I saw you. You waved, smiled, gave me a quick 'hey' and all of the sudden I wasn't angry anymore. I looked at you, and you made my whole world light up. That's how you help me Bones. And I love you for it. And you do take care of me."

"I do?" Bones asked doubtfully. "Of course you do, Bones!" Booth exclaimed not liking how Brennan was doubting her self. "Ughhh… Bones. Stop with this. You should never doubt yourself, never. You're too good a person to doubt yourself. You take care of me. You always fix my back when I hurt it by massaging it and doing that aligning thing." Bones opened her mouth to correct him, but Booth put his hand up and continued. "You make me your mac and cheese, and you stroke my hair to help me fall asleep. You hold my hand and coo to me when I've had a bad day, and you never beat around the bush in being honest when I need your advice or critique. That's how you take care of me. You are one of the most caring people I've ever met, and you'll be the best mother ever." Booth smiled and held Brennan's hand. They both smiled and gazed into each others eyes, getting lost in each other like they had so many times.

Then, suddenly Brennan's smile faded and she became serious. "Booth why did you want to see me that day. What was wrong?" Booth smiled at her. "I don't even remember anymore, because of you." Brennan looked confused by this statement. "What do you mean you don't remember? How can you be upset by something one moment and then forget about it the next? That doesn't make any sense." Booth laughed at her crinkled brow, and gently rubbed her hands. "Ok fine Bones. You win. I was upset because that stupid Agent Flynn was talking nonsense about you running away with Christine." Booth eyes flared with anger at the memory. "Booth, I'm fine. Christine's fine. We both love you and you know that I had to do that to keep both her and myself safe. And what about that bomb at the house? You could have died if you'd gone home instead going to that motel. We could have died, you could have died Booth…" Brennan's eyes began to tear, and Booth squeezed her hand. "I am not saying that I don't have regrets Booth. But I did what I did out of professional courtesy. I wanted our partnership to remain solid, and I had faith that you would be able to forgive me. You've always had faith in me, so I do to." Brennan and Booth both smiled. "And you shouldn't be worried about the other agents think about me now. They've always said things about me." Booth stopped smiling.

"What?! What have they said? Why didn't you tell me?" Brennan chuckled nervously, and began addressing each question separately. "Well…there were a couple agents that I've seen who repeatedly seem to talk about me. They start talking when they think I'm gone, but I'm not, and I try not to hear it, but I do." Booth just stared at her. "What have they said Bones?" Booth asked again in an irritated, sing song voice. "I'm telling you, Booth." Brennan sighed. "They just said…well, something about cold-hearted, bitch, undeserving, always in trouble, and hot and cold." Booth felt his blood run cold with anger. 'How dare those sons of bitches say that about My Bones'. "Wait… Hot and cold? What does that even mean?" Brennan sighed. "Hot face, hot figure, cold personality, cold soul… and they said something about me being the death of you. That I was going to cause your death one day, and they didn't know how I could be worth your death no matter how good the sex was…" Brennan trailed off, tears welling in her eyes. She had tried not to let this affect her, but that last statement was a statement that affected her most.

Booth took Brennan's hands and placed them on his still bare chest. "Bones, listen, my heart is still beating. I'm here. Yes, I'm protective of you. I told you, I'd die for you, and I'd kill for you. But you are worth it, I guarantee that, and you are not cold-hearted, nor are you a bitch, nor undeserving nor hot and cold or whatever else they said. In fact," Booth added, smiling, "You're hot and hot. Get it?" Booth said laughing, and Brennan joined in and her eyes began twinkling again, before his got serious again. "What were their names Bones?" Brennan thought for a moment. "I think they were Agents Gold, Smith, Jones, Cole and Weist."

In a flash, Booth flipped open his cell phone and started dialing. "Booth, what are you doing?" Booth smiled. "What does it look like? Standing up for your honor, duh! Oh yes, this is Agent Booth speaking…Yes…Well I'd like to speak to a few agents, please…Yes, Mr. Gold, Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, Mr. Cole, and Mr. Weist… no they don't have to be called separately, I am told they hang out in the same circle…Yes, thank you…" Booth put his hand over the speaker on the phone and looked to Bones. "The guard is patching him through." Brennan shook her head, but smiled. She always did like his protective side, even if she denied it.

"Hello Agent Gold" Booth spoke in a now cold tone. "Please put me on speaker phone so I can address all of your _friends_…Thank you…now, what is this I hear about you picking on Dr. Brennan?" Booth put the agents on speakerphone, so Brennan could hear.

"Well, Agent Booth. You've gotta admit that some of the things we said were true, and we don't want to lose one of the best agents we've had in a long time. We were only doing it out of concern for you, because we don't want you ending up with the wrong person. I mean, Dr. Brennan's a scientist, not a cop, and she is the complete opposite of you. Besides, despite her gorgeous figure and face, her personality's lacking, she's so cold, and sometimes we think she's not even human." Booth felt his anger bubbling up again, and clenched his fists.

"Now you listen here you Bozos. None of the things you said were, or are, true. Except the fact that my best friend is beautiful, but hot is not the adjective to describe her beauty. And, if I ever hear you say cold and Dr. Brennan in the same sentence, I will truly beat the shit out of you. She is anything but that. You just don't know her, because you haven't had the pleasure of getting to know her like I have." Booth heard an agent mutter in the background "that's for sure". "What was that Agent Jones?" Hearing nothing but silence, Booth continued. "I thought so. As I was saying, Bones-err… Dr. Brennan is my partner, my best friend, and the love of my life. And as those three things, it is my job to make sure that she stays untouched, unhurt, emotionally, mentally and physically. This might occasionally mean risking my life for her, but she is worth it. She is the most deserving person ever, and don't you forget it. She does not cause trouble, she is curious, which is why she is so good at her job as a scientist, and as a detective, which she is in addition to being a scientist. Also, while Bones and I may seem like opposites, there are many ways in which we are similar, and put all of our qualities together and we complete each other. We are soul mates. There are times when we know what the other is thinking. That is why we make a good team. So… let's make this simple shall we? If you ever say anything negative that even mentions Dr. Brennan you will pay. Understood?!"

Booth ended his rambling speech, feeling a mixture of anger, relief and pride. He was answered by five simultaneous "Yes sir's" and turned back to see Bones on the bed with tears streaming down her face. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me I have more important things to do than to lecture you on the obvious you jackasses, or should I say boneheads? Goodbye." Booth angrily hung up, and hurried back to kneel besides Bones.

"What's wrong Bones? Are you in pain?" Booth asked worriedly. "No, Booth. I've just never been defended like that before. I love you." Brennan smiled through her tears. Booth laughed, "I love you, too, Bones. Now rest. I'll be here when you wake up." Booth had noticed that she was getting better, but she was still overly tired, and lacked the energy she used to have, and she was still nauseous. Although her fever and wheezing had decreased, her fever was still quite high at '102' and she was still struggling to breathe. Booth slid beneath her again, bare chested and rocked her slowly back to sleep.

**So I hope you don't think I got to off track with this chapter, but I promise to focus more on Brennan getting better in the next couple chapters, but I really wanted to see some Booth protectiveness. Hope you enjoyed! Again, let me know if you have any concerns, comments, suggestions etc. Please review : ) Also, I was wondering if I simply post another chapter does it immediately update my story? Why doesn't my story show up further up the Bones Fanfiction page? Any answers would be helpful, since this is my first experience with fanfiction of any kind. Thanks again.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, here's another chapter of my first fanfic. Again, hope you guys enjoy and thanks again for all the wonderful reviews!**

For the first time in days, Brennan woke up before Booth. She took this as an opportunity to watch him sleep. He was curled up around her, in a spooning position, an arm wrapped around her waist as they faced each other, his hand softly stroking her back. She wondered how he could be stroking her back in his sleep, but smiled thinking it was just like him. His other hand was intertwined with hers as they lay together, with her head on his chest. Their legs were tangled as well, and she savored the feeling of his warm legs and feet on her cold ones. She sighed in contentment, and snuggled in closer. 'He looks so peaceful' she thought, and she rested her head on his beating heart.

After lying there for 30 minutes, she noticed that his heartbeat had increased. Looking up she saw that he was sweating, his brow furrowed and fists clenched, and his usually smiling lips pasted in a worried frown. She hoped he wasn't catching whatever she had, and slowly began stroking his cheek. She figured he was either sick or having a nightmare, and either way she knew she had to wake him up. "Wake up Booth…come on wake up!" she said her voice increasing with volume as she patted his cheek with her hand.

However, the power she was putting into her voice caused her chest to tighten and she went into a fit of hacking coughs. This drew Booth from his slumber, and although he seemed to relax, his worried frown stayed fixed. As he was pulled back to reality, he noticed Brennan coughing. Although this worried him, he was so glad she was here and not in that coffin he had seen in his dream. He slowly sat up, leaning on the headboard as he brought Brennan up with him. He patted her back and cooed to her, hoping to stop the terrible hacking.

"It's okay Bones. Breathe. Just Breathe." But soon her coughing got worse, and she was struggling to breathe, her breaths coming in gasps in between coughs. Booth was getting nervous, worried she might pass out from lack of oxygen, and got up to get her coughing meds and the oxygen tank. "Bones you have to breathe, you're going to pass out." Brennan gasped, "trying…I'm trying." Booth hurried back to her side, and gave her the cough meds, which she took eagerly. "Now Bones I have to place this oxygen mask over your mouth and nose, okay?" Booth warned her eyeing her apologetically. Brennan just nodded, and Booth placed the mask over her face. "Ok now breathe Bones. Just breathe as deep as you can. I need you to breathe." But Brennan was still having trouble breathing, and Booth was getting increasingly worried. "Come on Bones! You have to breathe. Seriously. You'll pass out. Come on, you can do it. For me, breathe."

Brennan inhaled, and although it hurt her chest deeply, continued to inhale and exhale appropriately. Booth exhaled in relief. "That's it Bones, that's it…Ughhh, don't ever scare me like that again. I nearly had a heart attack!" He gently rubbed his chest and her back at the same time. Brennan looked up and smiled slightly.

"You are wayyy to young to have a heart attack, Booth. I need you around for a long time." Booth smiled back and teasingly whispered, "Yeah, well, your independent streak might just be the death of me. But I love you anyways, and you never have to blame yourself for anything. Even though I do wish you had gone to the hospital like I'd told you to. Next time I'll drag you there if you protest." He wagged his index finger at her, and she gently wrapped her fist around it and brought it to her lips as she kissed it.

"Whatever you say, dear" and while the words were obviously teasing, Brennan's voice came out somewhat earnest, and Booth smiled. "Ummm… Booth?" Booth raised his eyebrows in anticipation of the following statement. "Why were you sweating and worried in your sleep? You're not getting any symptoms are you? I hope not. I couldn't bear to get you sick with me. That would be the worst. Please, tell me the truth, though. Are you sick or were you having a nightmare?" Booth laughed at her rambling, but blunt, speech, and kissed her lightly, knowing that a kiss too deep might deprive her of much needed oxygen.

"It was just a dream, Bones. Nothing you have to worry about." But her eyes were begging him to tell her, so he continued. "When you went away because of Pelant, I was worried sick about you and Christine. I would have nightmares about you moving on, leaving me permanently, either by finding someone new or by…dying." Booth trailed off, and Brennan felt tears welling up.

"I'm so sorry, Booth." Booth shook his head, "You have nothing to be sorry about. I was just paranoid. And those dreams about you leaving me for someone else were never realistic, because I knew in my heart that you would never do that." Brennan nodded her head in firm agreement, and Booth continued. "But those dreams about you dying…those were more realistic. You getting blown up by a bomb like the one placed in our own home, or Pelant finding you, or the FBI finding you and putting you in prison only to have Pelant kill you from the outside. And, finally, you getting sick but not being able to get treated because you were in the middle of nowhere."

Brennan began to understand, and grasped his hand as tightly as she could, so as to prove that she was still here. "I guess it just seemed like this whole incident is that nightmare coming true, and I had a nightmare that you died." He shrugged, but his eyes were full of pain and sadness. "I'm right here, Booth. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." She took the hand she had grasped and raised it to her chest covering his entire hand with both of hers and pressing down, despite the pain it caused. "Heartbeat, see? I'm right here…" Booth nodded, and stroked her cheeks with his other hand.

After a few minutes, Booth asked, "Are you feeling better?" Brennan nodded, but Booth's look told her she needed to elaborate. "I am, thank you. Despite that recent coughing fit, I seem to be breathing better, and the pain is getting better. Although I could easily attribute that to you." Booth smiled at her honesty. "Hey Bones? How about we go into the family room and watch something? You could choose for once." Booth shrugged, even though he did want to watch the new hockey game that was on. Bones shook her head. "I'd love to go watch TV with you, which is rare, but you can choose, Booth."

Booth smiled and got up. He suddenly realized he might have to carry her. "Ummm… Bones can you stand or walk?" Brennan honestly didn't know, and she shrugged. Booth nodded, and helped her up into a standing position. She was leaning heavily on him, and couldn't seem to stand up by herself. When she was in a totally upright position, she just fell onto him, and he caught her. Brennan looked up at Booth with a helpless look on her face, and his heart broke for his normally independent partner. "That's okay, Bones. I'll carry you." He gently gathered her and scooped her up.

When they reached the living room, he gently placed her sideways on the couch, lifting her feet for a moment so he could sit down and place her feet on his lap. He had known that since having Christine, Brennan had chronic problems with her feet and back from the strain of carrying the baby for nine months. He had helped her by massaging both her feet and back throughout her pregnancy and beyond, and tonight he figured it was time for her to enjoy one of his foot rubs. He started massaging the soles of her feet thoroughly.

She leaned her head back on the armrest of the couch and hummed in approval. "Oh that feels good, Booth. I will never get tired of your massages, that's for sure." Booth laughed at her humming voice. "And I'll never get tired of yours, Bones, so I guess we're even." Again they gazed into each others eyes and smiled in another one of their stares.

"Well…what do you want to watch Bones?" Booth asked. "I told you. You have the final say, but I would like to watch some hockey. I heard there's a new game on." Booth gave her a knowing smile. He knew what she was doing. She was trying to give him something while making it a favor for her. He was familiar with the trick, as he had pulled it numerous times with her, and had learned through his relationship with her, that she did the same thing. However, unlike him, she did not know that he knew what she was doing.

She had always known when he was doing her a favor by saying it was a favor for him, and he was aware that she knew. But she was clueless to the fact that he had known she did the same trick, and he found this just another adorable aspect of his partner's personality. He leaned over and kissed her, and handed her the remote, as she flipped to the hockey channel.

After Booth was content that her feet muscles were no longer sore, and he had given her a nice long back massage, they leaned in together, snuggled on the couch with the blanket wrapped over them. They watched the hockey game, which Brennan had never enjoyed, and so she decided she would busy herself by watching Booth instead of the game. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and rested her head on his chest as he became entranced by the hockey game, trying not to cheer so as to keep the house quiet for his Bones. Both were happy, loved, and loving.

**Let me know if you have any suggestions or comments. Review Please : )**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, so this is chapter 5. Hope you enjoy! I love reviews, so please review : ) Thanks again for all your support.**

The hockey game had ended, and Booth and Brennan now lay together on the couch basking in each other's warmth and comfort. There had been many times, even when they weren't "together" that they laid together on the couch, talking or relaxing. One of the things that made the two such a good team was that they felt they could tell each other anything. They spent hours into the night discussing their fears, their dreams, their nightmares, their personal and working lives, and now, their family.

Although Booth had told Brennan that they were a family a long time ago, she had never truly believed it until Christine was born. She had always known they were a family, but she hadn't processed the statement, it hadn't sunken in until she saw Christine's big blue eyes, and her father's cheekbones. Christine was really a perfect combination of her and Booth, and that made Brennan happier than she could have imagined.

Then she remembered that she had handed Christine to Angela before she had gone home. She had not wanted to get her sick, and knew she would probably not have the energy to take care of her. But now, she realized, she missed her. Booth recognized that thinking face anywhere. Her brow furrowed, her eyes staring blankly but full of intensity at the same time. However, while she did frown a bit when she thought, he noticed that she was wearing a pout.

"What's the matter, Bones?" Brennan looked up, teary eyed. "Just missing Christine, Booth." Booth nodded knowingly. Brennan never could go a night without Christine by her side, and this made Booth smile a bit. He noticed when they were together they had continuous separation anxiety. When Brennan was away from Booth, even if it was just for a night to go teach a lecture, or stay at the lab, Booth couldn't sleep. And in the daytime when they weren't together, he missed her like crazy, and he knew she did too. It was a miracle that they had survived the 3 months they were apart for. They also got separation anxiety when Christine was in daycare, even if Brennan refused to admit it. Between each other and Christine, Booth and Brennan underwent so much separation anxiety, it was no wonder that they squished each other every time they saw each other.

"I know, baby, but it will just be for a little while. And you don't have to worry about her. She is safe with Ange and Hodge. And just think of all the fun she'll have with Michael!" Booth's words had a calming effect on Brennan, but she was still worried. "What if…" she trailed off, but Booth knew perfectly well what she was thinking. "Don't worry, Bones. She would never think that we abandoned her. She knows we always come back." He squeezed her hand to enforce his statement. Brennan smiled. 'How does he do that?'

She decided to voice this question aloud. "How do you do that, Booth? Know exactly what I'm thinking?" Booth shrugged. "Well, I just know you, I guess. You can do the same thing, so it makes sense." Brennan nodded and shifted closer to him.

Booth decided to take this as an opportunity to check Brennan's temperature. He placed his hand on her forehead, and Brennan felt comforted by the feel of his cool hand on her hot forehead and sighed. It was almost as if his touch relieved the pressure building up in her congested head. Booth clicked his tongue. "You're still hot, Bones. Ummm…would you be okay with taking a cool bath to lower your temperature? I know it wouldn't be particularly comfortable, but I think it might be necessary."

Brennan nodded. "Only if you come in with me, Booth." She smirked at him with a mischievous grin, and Booth couldn't help but chuckle. "Who am I to deprive a woman of her man?" Brennan just rolled her eyes, and smiled. Booth got up to go run the bath, and Brennan sighed in disappointment. Booth gave her an amused smile and quipped, "Miss me already, Bones?"

Brennan looked up at him with a serious look on her face and said, "I always miss you when you're not here, Booth." Booth felt the honesty of her statement weigh on his chest and replied, "Me too, Bones. You want me to carry you to the bedroom, and you can rest on the bed while I'm in the bathroom? You'll be closer." Brennan shook her head. "I'd rather you carry be to the bathroom, and I'll sit on the floor." Booth opened his mouth to protest, but Brennan stopped him. "Please, Booth?" she asked, giving him her best puppy dogface. Booth laughed at her pout, it was so adorable, and he was impressed at her face skills. Booth just nodded, and picked her up once again, carrying her to their bathroom, and placed her on the cold tiles.

She rested her head against the vanity, and while it wasn't a very comfortable position, she was always comforted by Booth's presence. Booth made the bath using scents that reminded him most of Brennan. She always smelt like the ocean, like a breeze and flowers and sand all mixed together as you would see in Hawaii. Brennan frowned when she saw this, because she loved his scent, his scent of sweat and cinnamon and an almost foot-deodorant smell, as much as he loved hers.

"Booth, what are you doing?" Booth turned around, puzzled, "Huh?" Brennan sighed, "I don't want you to smell like me, Booth. I want you to smell like you." Booth laughed, "Why? You have such a wonderful scent." Brennan chuckled back. "Well, thank you, but I like yours, too. And I want to smell your scent not mine. It comforts me." Booth smiled. "Okay, then how about we compromise. I'll take a bath with you, and when you get relaxed, I'll hop in the shower for a few minutes and douse myself with my soap?" Brennan nodded. "That sounds acceptable."

Booth finished making the bath, and then placed Brennan gently in the tub, knowing that the coldness might startle her. When she began to emerge she grabbed hold of Booth's arm and let out a small whimper. Booth's heart broke, and squeezed her gently before placing her in the water completely.

Seeing Brennan start to shiver, Booth was quick to remove his clothes. Brennan looked up at him and through chattering teeth said, "Mmm…so-o-o n-i-nice." Booth gaped at her. "Freezing to death and you're oogling me?!" But despite the shock the statement came out more in a laugh than an exclamation. Booth slid into the water, bracing himself for the cold, and allowed Brennan's overheated body to lean on his, comforting both partners. "Ahhh… that's better." Brennan was content, and soon began to slip into a light slumber.

When she seemed relaxed enough, Booth placed a towel that he cleverly placed beneath the hairdryer, making it nice and toasty, behind her head. Brennan mumbled in disappointment, but Booth kissed her. "Be right back. I promise, but you are the one that made the special request for my 'Boothy' scent." Brennan opened one eye and glared at him with it, but then went back to her light resting. Booth smiled to himself, and rushed into the shower, enjoying the warmth of the heated water.

After five minutes of soaping himself up with his most commonly used shower products, he stepped out of the shower and quickly dried himself up, only grabbing some boxers to keep himself warm, so as to allow Brennan to feel the comfort of his bare skin. He then knelt down next to her and stroked her cheek. "Come on, Bones. I'm gonna take you back to bed, ok?" Brennan didn't open her eyes, but nodded, so Booth leaned in with a towel and wrapped it around her and carried her back to the bed. After placing her on the bed, he dried her with the towel and dropped it on the floor. He gasped when he saw Brennan's fully unclothed body. Although he had seen her body many times before, he still gasped every time because of her stunning beauty. But this time there was something more to the gasp. "What is it, Booth?" Brennan asked knowingly. "Ummm… nothing Bones. Go back to sleep." Brennan knew it wasn't nothing, but was too tired to argue, so she went back to sleep. Booth knelt down, as he soberly dressed her in some pajama shorts and a large T-shirt. He couldn't believe how skinny she'd gotten in the past week. He could literally see her bones. Her ribs protruded outwards, and her hip bones were pointed as well. He shook his head. 'This will never do.' He decided that some feeding was in order, so he went to the kitchen and gathered as many bland foods as he could: saltines, toast, and some vegetable soup. When he came back, he happily saw the Brennan was awake. She eyed the food, and realization came to her eyes. "I'm that skinny?" Booth just nodded and came next to her and began feeding her the food, which unlike before, she ate only asking, "That's not chicken broth is it?" Booth shook his head, as he knew she was a vegetarian, and Brennan reluctantly accepted the food. Unfortunately about 30 minutes after she had eaten, Brennan started to pale. "Umm… Booth?" Booth raised his eyebrows in question. "Can you fetch me a bucket, please?" She blushed and Booth looked down. 'How will she ever gain the weight back if she can't hold down food?' "Of course, Bones." He went and got the bucket and she just knelt over it as the little food she ate ran out of her. Booth took her hair, and stroked her face and rubbed her back, arms and hands. When she kept heaving, Booth left and came back with a wet washcloth, which he ran over her sweating face. Brennan looked at him appreciatively, and eyed him her thanks. Booth nodded, but didn't smile. When she was done, she began to cry. "Bones, what's wrong?" Booth asked worriedly. "I just… don't wanna be sick anymore, Booth." Booth nodded. "You'll get better soon Bones. I promise you will, and I'll be here through it all." He leant down and kissed her lightly. "You really should stop doing that Booth. You might get sick and then where will we be?" Booth shook his head. "Not gonna happen Bones. You're on antibiotics, and the doctor told me you weren't contagious. And… even if you were, I'd never be able to stop myself from kissing you anyways." Despite herself, Brennan chuckled and cupped his cheek with one of her palms. Booth placed his hand over hers on his cheek and then laid down next to her. They lay like that for a while, and both knew they'd both be fine as long as they had each other, which would be forever.

**Thanks for reading! Review please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's chapter 6! Again, thanks for all the lovely reviews, and I hope you enjoy this new installment. I apologize for the shortness, but I've been busy with summer work.**

Brennan was quick to fall asleep as they lay together, but Booth lay quietly holding Brennan as she slept. He was thinking about how he could get her to eat without her throwing up. He had already given her anti-nausea pills, which had worked the first few times, like when he made her breakfast that first morning. Unfortunately, it seemed that they wouldn't work at all anymore. Looking at Brennan's frail body, he decided that a call to the doctor was necessary.

He slowly picked up the phone and dialed, gingerly removing himself from Brennan so as not to wake her up. "Hey doc. It's Agent Booth…Yes, I'm fine…She's doing better, but I'm a bit concerned about her appetite…She doesn't want to eat, but I kind of forced her and she keeps throwing up. I'm afraid she'll die of starvation…I tried the meds, but they don't work…Are you sure that's the only solution?...She's not going to like that…Okay, well I'll tell her and I'll come by to pick it up later. Maybe in an hour or so?...Thanks, doc Bye."

He hung up the phone and looked back to Brennan. He decided to wait a bit before waking her up so he could make a quick stop by the hospital to pick up the nutrition drip that the doctor had deemed necessary for her to avoid malnutrition.

After 50 minutes, Booth realized he had to go soon, so he slowly rocked her back and forth, and smiled down at her as her eyelids fluttered, and her big blue eyes stared up at him in question.

"Hey Bones. I have to stop by the hospital for a few minutes. I'll be back in about a half hour." A look of worry crossed Brennan's face as she whispered, with a voice heavy from sleep. "Why Booth? You're not feeling sick are you? I told you, you shouldn't have kissed me…" Booth chuckled and kissed her again, and she looked up at him with her 'what the heck are you doing' face. "It's not for me, Bones, it's for you. I have to get you a nutrition drip."

Brennan opened her mouth to say it was unnecessary, but Booth placed his index and middle fingers over her lips to shush her. "It is necessary, Bones. Trust me. You need to get some food in that skinny body of yours, so just let me do this. When you're feeling better and you can eat without emptying your entire stomach five minutes later, then you can stop." Brennan glared at him, but nodded her head.

"Can I go with you?" Booth knew how she hated being left alone, but he really wanted her to rest. "Do you really want to go, Bones? Because I'd rather you just stay here and rest. You need it, and I'll be right back." Brennan shook her head defiantly and said, "Booth, I couldn't even stay in the bedroom by myself while you fixed the bath. How am I going to stay her for thirty minutes while you go to the hospital."

Booth had to admit he would miss Brennan also. He also knew he would feel anxiety that she might need him and he wouldn't be there, so he decided to give both of them this one. "Ok, Bones. You win." He gave her a 'Boothy' charm smile, and Brennan returned it with the lopsided grin that she knew drove him crazy. She laughed at his pout when he said, "No fair, Bones."

He then proceeded to carry her and took her down to where the SUV awaited, and placed her in a lowered passenger seat. He grabbed a blanket and pillow from the back, and wrapped the blanket around her and placed the pillow under head. He went to the driver's seat and took her hand, and held it tight, as he drove to the hospital.

10 minutes later, they had arrived at the hospital, and Booth leant over Brennan and whispered, "We're here, Bones. I'm running in. Here's your cell phone, call me if you need me, but I'll be back in less than five minutes." Brennan nodded her head sleepily, and Booth placed the cell phone in the palm of her hand, and then ran into the hospital.

As promised, Booth returned to the SUV in 4 minutes, and leaned over Brennan and kissed her forehead, as he started the car again. He chuckled at her sleepy mumble, "I could have survived without you for another minute." He rolled his eyes, "Sure Bones, sure."

When he had carried her back to their bed, he pulled the blankets up around her and took out the trip and collapsible IV pole. He carefully placed the bag of nutrients on the hook, while untangling the chords and grabbing for the needle at the end. He winced as he caught sight of the shiny metal point. 'That's gonna hurt.'

He was aware that Brennan was remarkably pain tolerant. When she had gotten shot after the whole 'dating his brother fiasco' she hadn't even yelped, only released a barely audible gasp. However, in her weak state, he thought it might hurt more, and the thought of her hurting made him hurt.

He looked down at her to see her looking back up at him with warm blue eyes. He never liked the phrase 'icy' blue eyes, because it implied that his partner was cold, which he knew she wasn't. "Just do it, Booth. It won't hurt that much, you know about my pain tolerance. Don't worry." She gave him a reassuring smile, and held out her arm, bracing herself for the sharpness of the needle.

Booth took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Brennan yelped. "Don't close your eyes. I need you to see where you're putting the needle. It wouldn't do me very good having a needle in my corneas in addition to the lack of sight I might face due to the scarlet fever." Normally Booth would have laughed, but the seriousness of the situation made it hard for him to see the humor.

He gently took her arm and slid the needle into it, and winced when he saw Brennan biting her lips in pain. "I'm fine, Booth. That's better. Now, come back and lay down with me." Booth complied. "What did you mean by the eyesight comment, Bones?" Brennan looked at him. "Oh that. Well, it's a well-known fact that scarlet fever can often lead a person with a loss of eyesight, or even blind. It can affect hearing and muscle strength as well." Booth nodded. "Yes the doctor told me, but he also told me to come in immediately if you are noticing some losses."

Brennan looked down. "Well, obviously my muscle strength has decreased but that could just be to my weakened state. We'll have to wait to see if that's permanent. And even if it is, I should be able to get it back through physical therapy." Booth just nodded, feeling like she had more to say. "But…I have noticed a little decrease in my sight in hearing, not a big enough decrease that it is serious in the moment, but if it gets worse I might have to go back to the hospital to see if they can correct it." Booth sighed. "But you promise you'll tell me if it gets to that point right?"

"Of course, Booth." They stared at each other again in silent communication. They trusted each other thoroughly and completely, so much so that others might see them as naïve and stupid like silly teenagers in love. But they were more than that. They were each other's soul mates, the missing pieces of the puzzle that had been incomplete until they found each other. They were the two halves of the person that Zeus had split in half. They had beaten Zeus's curse by finding each other, and they could defeat anything and everything, together.

**So, what do you think? I know that Booth doing the needle thing for Brennan was unrealistic, but what can I say? I love Booth and Brennan too much to be realistic or rational (pun intended). I love reviews, so review please : )**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everybody. Sorry for the late posting, but I have sooo much work to do. Next update will be faster, hopefully. This chapter is written, and I hope that Nertooold54 will appreciate the added character. Enjoy and Review please!**

After hours of looking into each other's eyes, which seemed like only minutes to them, Brennan finally spoke up. "Booth are you in trouble for not going to work, and instead staying here with me." Booth shook his head.

"Of course not, you know how important you are to the FBI. Hacker and Cullen gave me a couple weeks off of paid vacation time, as I have not used many of my vacations, except to be with you and parker. And even if they hadn't given me a vacation, I'd still be here with you, no matter what." They both smiled, and Booth gave Brennan an Eskimo kiss.

"What do you mean they gave you a couple weeks off? I'm sure we'll be back before then." Booth cringed, he hadn't yet told Brennan the doctor's orders for her to stay away from work for a few more weeks, and he knew she would be less than ecstatic about the prospect of staying home.

He knew her tendency to get restless. He remembered once, when she was pregnant, she had gotten a pretty bad cold, and had gone to work anyways. She only went home when Booth literally picked her up and dragged her home, her kicking, screaming and threatening the whole way home. He knew he was going to have to bolt the doors to keep her from running off, similar to what he had done during her maternity leave.

However, he thought 'This is going to be much worse. She doesn't have a baby to keep her occupied and happy and content. I wonder if I can get Christine back from Angela, soon. Maybe Parker can visit as well. She'll be doubly occupied.' Booth chuckled at that thought, and looked up to see Brennan's curious glare. "I don't see what you could possibly find so amusing, as I have not said anything."

Booth started laughing at this, and Brennan slapped him gently. "Tell me Booth. Am I going to have to stay away from work?" Booth stopped laughing suddenly. "Yes, Bones. Doctor's orders." Brennan sighed. "But Booth I'll be fine in a couple days. You know I can't stay away from work that long. There are the cases from Limbo and that other case we were working before I…" Brennan was cut off by Booth's index finger pressing gently against her lips.

"Bones stop. You don't need to go back, they can deal without you there. I promise. Also, both Cam and Angela insisted that you take off for an extra week, which I know you won't take. They also said they would have insisted soon anyways, because Cam says you're the only person who hasn't used up a single vacation day since when you gave birth to Christine."

Brennan opened her mouth to deny this, but Booth put his hand to her mouth once again, silently reading her mind. "And don't deny it Bones. It's true, now just relax." Brennan snorted. "Me relax? Yeah, that'll be the day." Booth chuckled with her. "True. Listen, I'm gonna call Angela and Rebecca and see if Christine and Parker can come in a couple hours. That way, you'll have a 12 year old chatting your ear off, and a 1 year old to cuddle with. K?" Brennan nodded. "Thanks, Booth."

Booth gently reached for his phone and dialed Angela first. "Hey Ange, I was wondering if you could bring Christine over…Yeah she's feeling a bit better…Well, she's lost a lot of weight and can't seem to keep food down so she's on a nutrition drip, and occasionally needs an oxygen mask to breathe, but she'll be fine in a week or two…No she's not contagious…Yes, thanks Ange…30 minutes is perfect. Bye."

Booth hung up the phone and smiled seeing Brennan's eyes lit up at the thought of seeing her child in 30 minutes. "Okay, one down one to go." He winked at her and dialed Rebecca's number.

"Hey Becs…yes she's feeling much better. I was wondering if we could maybe keep Parker here for a week or so…No, she's not contagious…I just want someone to keep her company."

Booth put his hand over the phone's speaker for a second and mouthed to Brennan 'he needs help with his homework, and he's asking for you.' Brennan nodded, indicating that she'd be glad to help him. Brennan had always tutored Parker with his schoolwork, and now the kid got straight A's and Booth teased both Brennan and Parker about how he was turning into a squint. But secretly he was proud of both of them.

"She'd be happy to help him…Of course, when can he come?...wow that soon?...no, thank you so much Becs, an hour is perfect. Bye." Booth hung up the phone. "Well, you'll have both your children in an hour." Brennan smiled and Booth hugged her. "You're a great mom, you know that?" Brennan blushed, and ducked her head shyly. "You really are." Brennan looked up again capturing his eyes. "And you're a great father." Brennan fell into a light nap, while Booth continued to hold her.

Approximately 30 minutes later the doorbell rang, and Booth shook Brennan awake. "That's probably Christine, baby." Brennan nodded her head eagerly, and her energy seemed to have increased simply at hearing her daughter's name. Booth rose, taking Brennan with him. He rushed to the living room, and gently placed Brennan sideways on the couch covering her with a blanket before jogging to answer the door.

"Hey studly, here's your absolute pleasure of a daughter." Booth smiled at the artist, and took his daughter, who was squealing "Dadda! Momma!", from the artist's outstretched arms. "How's Bren?" Booth turned his head in the direction of his partner. "See for yourself." Angela nodded and rushed to her best friend's side.

"Hi sweetie, how are you feeling?" Angela stroked Brennan's cheek, startled at how thin, pale, and weakly Brennan looked. 'But at least she's happy.' "I'm feeling much better now, Angela. And I think Christine may be just what I need."

She then turned her head to look at Booth and outstretched her arms in silent pleading for her child. Booth smiled and knelt beside Brennan next to Angela and gently placed Christine in her mother's arms so that she was resting half on Brennan's lap and half in her arms.

Brennan sighed in contentment, and nuzzled her child's face with her nose. "Hello, baby girl, Mommy missed you." The little girl reached her hand out to her mother's face, and softly ran her little index finger along her mother's nose and cheeks before repeatedly squealing, "Momma". Brennan laughed and Christine wrapped her little fist around two of her mother's fingers, and snuggled into Brennan's chest comfortably. Brennan tightened her arms around her daughter and looked into her daughter's blue eyes, her own beginning to tear up in happiness. Booth and Angela, seeing that this was a mother-daughter moment, left the room to talk. Brennan and Christine sat together warmly snuggled on the couch, faces touching, and in their own world having what seemed to be a silent conversation.

Booth and Angela discussed the proper splitting of care over Christine. Booth knew it would be very hard for him to take care of Christine every night, so Angela offered to take Christine home from 9 pm to 8 am every night, with the exception of tonight. They felt Christine and Brennan needed each other tonight. Booth and Brennan thanked Angela profusely and Angela agreed to come for Christine at 9 pm, the next day, and left.

Booth joined Brennan on the couch, lifting her feet onto his lap, as the three of them lay quietly, almost silent except for Brennan's light wheezing and coughing, and Christine's light breathing as she fell asleep.

The doorbell interrupted the quiet silence 15 minutes later. Booth slowly rose and looked through the peephole, looking to see his ex-girlfriend and a curly blonde mop of hair that was his son. He opened the door, and Parker hugged him quickly before hurrying in and breathlessly asking, "where's Bones? Mommy!" Booth laughed at his son's desperate need to see his "mom".

Parker had begun calling Bones "Mom" soon after Booth and Brennan had begun dating, although he had accidentally let the title slip through his mouth time and time again before. Brennan had always been a mother figure to Parker, helping him emotionally, physically and mentally. She helped him do his homework, babysat him when Booth couldn't be there, picked him up from school, and tucked him into bed. She was always there to offer Parker advice, or to hold him if he was upset or just had a nightmare.

In some ways, Parker considered Brennan more loving than his own mother, although he would never tell this to Rebecca. Since going out with "Captain Fantastic" Rebecca had been much less attentive towards Parker, and let Booth and Brennan care for him more often.

Now, she figured was a good time for her to spill some news. "Booth?" Booth looked up to Rebecca. "I am going to work with my boyfriend for over a year in Paris, do you think you could watch Parker during that time?" Booth looked shocked; Rebecca hadn't even mentioned this trip. "Does Parker know? When are you leaving?" Rebecca nodded. "Parker knows. I'm leaving in 2 weeks, but I figured if you could take Parker now, it would be a great help for me." Booth's shocked expression slowly turned to one of happiness. "I'd love to Becs." Rebecca and Booth said goodbye and Booth turned to see Parker anxiously waiting to see Bones.

Booth laughed at Parker's anxious expression. "Dad, how's mom? Is she going to be okay?" Booth had opened his mouth to answer, when Parker continued with his questions. "Where is she? Is she sleeping? Can I see her now?" Booth gently clasped his hand over the boy's mouth. "She's still very sick, but she's getting better. She'll be fine. She's in the living room, and you can see her, she's not sleeping." Parker let out a breath, and ran into the living room, kneeling in front of Brennan.

She smiled down at the boy, who she considered her own son. She softly stroked his cheek and he grabbed her hand and kissed it, keeping it placed by his lips. "How are you Mommy?" Brennan handed Christine to Booth, so she could focus on her favorite boy. She reached for him, and he happily, but gently, crept into her arms, laying on her lap, his face pressed against her chest. She rested her chin on his head and rubbed his back, while he stroked the arm that wasn't rubbing his back. "I'm fine, Parker. You don't have to worry. You being here has already healed me a ton, baby." Parker nodded, unsure.

"I love you, Mommy." Brennan's breath hitched. She never got used to, or tired of, those words. "And I love you, baby." She gently kissed his head and he grabbed her hand and pressed their intertwined fingers to his chest. They both sighed, Christine giggled, and Booth smiled at his three favorite people.

"So Daddy said you were having some trouble with your homework, baby." Parker nodded, and asked his dad to go get his backpack, which Booth did. Parker then pulled out some papers, which Brennan held close to her face, reading the small print, which seemed blurry due to her weakened eyesight. Booth and Parker frowned, but Booth knew that Brennan would realize when her eyesight was unusually weak, and gave Parker a reassuring glance. "Mmmm…English huh?" Parker nodded.

After Brennan had started helping Parker, he had moved up dramatically in science and math. He had even been put a year ahead in math due to his sudden advancement, and currently held an A+ in science, and an A in 7th grade math, despite him being in 6th grade in all his other classes. However, his English were not as good, but he was still well advanced, and had earned an A- since Brennan started teaching him the tricks to writing well.

"There's also some history homework that I'm having a little bit of trouble with, and I have some questions about my science homework. Well, not specifically from the homework, but just some seemingly random questions." Brennan smiled. "Of course Parks, I'll answer whatever questions you have to the best of my ability. But first, let's get started on this English homework. Can you get me my laptop, Booth?" Booth reluctantly stood and retrieved Brennan's laptop from her "anthropologist cave" before returning and handing it to her. "Don't overwork herself, Bones." Booth warned Brennan, but Brennan barely even looked at him before squinting again at Parker's assignment.

"Okay Parks, why don't you just start talking and I'll type." Parker nodded, and happily chatted away with his ideas on the assignment, while Brennan quickly pressed the keys on the keyboard.

Booth simply shook his head and lay down opposite of Brennan on the couch spreading out his legs so that his feet lay by Brennan's hips. He then placed Christine in between his legs so that her head lay on his torso, while her chubby legs lay on top of Brennan's. Wrapping his hands around his daughter, he lay his head back on the headrest, planning to get at least a little sleep while his Bones and their "mini-squint" were chatting about school and work and sciency things.

'Even if they are not biologically related, they are an awful lot alike.' Booth glanced at Brennan and Parker, and then at Christine, and then back at Brennan and Parker and their happy smiles and furrowed eyebrows, as they were deep in thought. Booth chuckled and sighed, before falling into a light sleep.

**As greedy as it might seem, I can't get enough of your lovely reviews, so please keep reviewing : )**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter 8! Enjoy : ) Review please!**

A few hours later, Booth had awoken from his semi-peaceful sleep. He looked to see his beautiful partner, now resting, her laptop forgotten, wedged in between the couch and her side, with Parker held tightly against her chest. Parker was still awake, of course, but he was looking up at his mother with the intense gaze that Booth recognized as Brennan's "thinking" glare.

"Hey Parks, what's up Bub?" Booth looked at his troubled son curiously, as Parker answered in a soft, sad voice. "Is she really going to be ok?" Booth frowned. "What do you mean Parks?"

Parker shook his head in response. "She doesn't have the energy that she usually has. We had barely finished my English assignment, before she practically passed out. She was making these funny noises when she was breathing, almost like it caused her pain and trouble to breathe. And why does she need to hold the paper so close? And even holding the paper that close she still squints, like she's struggling to see."

Booth nodded sadly. "Parker do you know what Scarlet fever is?" Parker's eyes widened. "Yes, it's a very bad disease that can cause a person to be physically weak for the rest of their lives. They might go blind and/or deaf." Booth nodded again.

"That's right Parks. Bones is suffering from Scarlet fever coupled with a chest infection and the flu. She should be better in a few days, but only time will tell if she'll ever have the same strength that she used to." Parker paled at hearing his father's news.

"But she'll be okay, right? She'll live? I mean, I couldn't…I don't know…what I would do if she…" Parker trailed off. Booth grasped Parker's feet, gently urging him to pay complete attention to him. "Parker, buddy, she'll definitely live. I wouldn't let her die; you know that. I would die myself before I let her suffer anything remotely close to death. But I'll tell you what. A little love and care might help cure her better and faster. Ok? That's what she needs from you; love. You worrying about her will not help her in the least, and it might just upset her more. Trust me, I'm doing enough worrying for both of us, that you can just focus on being your cute, adorable, loving self. Okay, Parker?"

Parker smiled at this. "I'll love her more than anyone or anything I've ever loved in my whole life if that helps her get better." Sensing that Brennan was waking up, Parker turned to Brennan and softly stroked and kissed her cheek, before whispering in her ear, "I love you sooo much, Mom. You're the best, and you need to get better soon, so that you and Dad can grow old together, and take care of Christine and me."

A slow, lonely tear leaked from Brennan's still closed eyes as she instinctively held tighter to Parker, and made a barely audible whisper, "I love you too, baby". She pressed her nose into his hair and inhaled the scent deeply, despite the pain it caused. However, this sharp inhale made her drowsy, yet again, and she began to fall asleep. Booth, seeing that Brennan was about to fall asleep, turned to Parker. "Hey buddy do you think you could go into Bones' and my Bedroom and pull the sheets down, and make sure the bedroom is fixed appropriately, so Bones can go to sleep? Oh, and make sure that Christine's bed is close to our bed." While Christine had a nursery, Booth had also installed another crib in their bedroom, as Brennan would often get anxious at night when she couldn't physically see Christine, especially during a gruesome case.

Parker nodded, and immediately, but gingerly, pulled himself from his mother's grasp before heading to his parents' bedroom to clean it up. Booth waited patiently for Parker to come back.

When he came back, Booth placed Christine carefully in Parker's arms, and asked him to place Christine in her crib, and then to come back again so they could help Brennan to the bedroom. Parker came back eager to help his mother. Booth knew that Brennan was too weak to walk, but he also understood her need to seem independent in front of Parker. He rolled her gently off the couch, and put his hand under her arms, helping her to a standing position.

Feeling that her legs wouldn't hold her up, as her knees buckled and her legs became almost like jelly beneath her, he put an arm around her shoulders. He hinted to Parker for him to put his smaller arms around her tiny waist, which he immediately did, frowning momentarily at how Brennan's bones seemed to be poking out from her skin. They more or less dragged her across the floor and up to the bedroom, and placed her slowly, and carefully, on the bed.

She sighed when her head hit the pillow, and immediately realized that Parker had changed the sheets when he went up. She stroked his cheek and patted the spot next to her, which he took and laid his head on her chest and intertwined their legs, as she stroked his hair. He placed his hand gently over her chest, softly running his hand in soothing circles, hoping to calm her raspy breathing.

When Booth saw that both were comfortable, he went over next to Brennan on his side of the bed. They lay there for a few minutes, Parker on one side, Brennan in the middle, and Booth on the other end. The two Booth boys were simultaneously fussing over their favorite anthropologist, massaging her, and rubbing their hands over her sore muscles in soft circles.

Brennan was content for a few minutes, until her eyes opened suddenly, full of fear. Booth frowned. "What's wrong, Baby?" Brennan looked over, seeing Parker, and let out an exhale, before becoming panicked again. Booth became more confused at this expression. "Bones?" She looked at him. "It's nothing, Booth." Booth sighed. "Bones, it is something. What is it?" She ducked her head, embarrassed, but he quickly pulled her gaze back up with a hooked index finger under her chin, his gaze telling her she had no reason to be ashamed.

"Do you think Christine could sleep with us?" Booth smiled, before frowning again. "Did you have a nightmare?" Brennan looked at Parker, who was now sleeping, and then back at Booth, who knew the answer from her worried eyes. "Oh Bones, both our children are fine, healthy, and safe. You have nothing to worry about, but of course Christine can sleep with us."

He went over to the crib, and pulled Christine out, and headed back, placing Christine in Brennan's arms, as he lay back down in his spot. He smiled at seeing her with both her children safe in her arms. Parker was cuddled up to her on her right, while Christine was now snug against her left side, and Booth lay next to Christine. He switched, alternately, from stroking Christine's beautiful, innocent face, to Brennan's arm that was holding Christine. As she sighed again, he knew she was happy, and would let sleep claim her once again, but he knew he would stay awake watching his three favorite people snuggled together.

**What do you think of the story so far? Any suggestions, comments etc. are appreciated. I have become an addict for reviews : )**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Sorry about the late delay. Darn that summer work and college essay! Again, remember I am making up all the medical stuff. I am a very good student in math, science, and English, but, as stupid and irrational as it might seem, I had a specific vision for the story that makes no sense scientifically or medically (which is ironic, considering that this is Brennan I'm writing about). Thanks for all the amazing reviews! Please continue to review : )**

The next morning, Brennan had awoken with a sense of renewed energy. Knowing that this energy would probably dwindle, Booth decided to have all four of them enjoy it while it lasted. He knew that with scarlet fever, it often seemed like the person was getting better until they hit rock bottom, and then they recovered shortly afterwards.

Booth decided to take all four of them to the diner before Brennan inevitably hit rock bottom. He gathered Brennan in a blanket and picked her up, carrying her to the SUV. Parker grabbed a pillow, and placed Christine in her portable car seat, before carrying it, and following Booth.

10 minutes later they were entering the diner, similar to how they had left the house, only Booth was now dragging Brennan, instead of carrying her, blanket and pillow left in the car. Booth was on the left of Brennan. He had his right arm wrapped securely around her waist, from the back, while his left arm was wrapped around her waist from the front. Brennan had her left arm around his neck and was holding Parker's hand with her right hand, while he carried Christine with his right hand. The people sitting in the diner looked at them, curious, shocked, sympathetic, but the waiters all just smiled, understanding what had happened and empathizing with their favorite couple and children.

Brennan felt embarrassed by all the stares, and turned her face into Booth's neck in an effort to distract herself from the intense gazes. Booth sensed this, quickened their pace. When he felt her warm tears dampening his shirt, he couldn't take it anymore. He turned to the people, staring at them, and shouted. "What are you looking at?! What is so interesting that you can't even blink? Do we have lights flashing over our heads or something? You've never seen a beautiful, intelligent, independent woman temporarily sick before?! If you people don't stop staring, I'll…" feeling Brennan's hand grasp his neck more tightly, he stopped his ranting, and finished quickly. "Stop staring, now."

He rushed to the nearest booth, and placed Brennan down on one side, and sitting next to her while Parker sat on the other side with Christine next to him, still in her car seat.

Booth turned to Brennan, who had silent tears streaming down her face, her chin wrinkled and her eyes scrunched shut. Booth's heart broke at the sight of his Bones so unhappy. "What's wrong Bones? Is it the people in the diner?" Brennan nodded tearfully, and Booth pulled her towards him. He felt her calm down, but he knew this was her forcing her feelings away in public, and she would have a breakdown later, like she always did.

Brennan, who had been on a nutrition drip for the past few days, was feeling better but did not want to test her stomach in the diner, so she simply ordered a ginger ale. Although Booth was hungry, he didn't want to tease Brennan with food she couldn't eat so he ordered a bowl of chicken noodle soup, which he planned to give her a few spoons of, and a chocolate egg cream, and Parker mimicked his father's order.

After they had eaten, the four of them left the diner, with the same stares of the people, who were now trying to be discreet by holding their heads down, while their eyes still gazed at Brennan.

When they entered the apartment, Booth, sensing Brennan was about to have her breakdown, told Parker to take Christine into the playroom and play with her. Parker nodded, noticing that Brennan seemed upset and went upstairs to the playroom. Booth carried Brennan to the couch and laid her down. Looking at her teary eyed face, he pulled her to him again.

This time, however, Brennan's quiet tears turned into wracking sobs that ripped through her body as she gripped Booth's shirt, as if he was her lifeline. Booth rubbed her back, cooing to her. "Let it out. That's it. I love you, you're okay. It's okay. Shh…it's okay, baby. It's okay. You'll get better soon, and then no one will ever look at you like that again."

As her sobs turned into gasps, Booth started panicking. "Bones, calm down, okay? Just breath for me. Listen. Follow my breaths. Breathe." Soon her breaths returned to normal, and the sobbing stopped. "That's my girl, that's my Bones." Brennan pulled away to look at Booth, and Booth gingerly wiped the remaining tears off her face.

"Tell me what's wrong, Baby." In a shaky voice, Brennan answered, "What if I don't go back to normal? Then I'll have to deal with that the rest of my life. People thinking I'm pathetic, that I'm a loser; a weak loser…" At this Brennan flung herself at Booth, seeking the comfort that was immediately given by Booth stroking her hair and back.

"Bones. First of all, you will return to normal. You may not have the same eyesight or hearing, but I won't let you go blind or deaf. With your strength and determination physical therapy will get your muscle strength back to normal. Second of all, you wouldn't be a pathetic, weak, loser if you were blind, deaf, and paralyzed. You are the least pathetic, strongest, winner I know, and you know it. And third of all, I'd never let anyone stare at you like that again. Okay?"

Brennan nodded, and smiled through her tears, before pulling back and leaning up to kiss his cheek, lips, and nose. They cuddled for a few minutes longer, before, Booth picked her up and brought her to the playroom. He set her on the lounge chair in the playroom, with a blanket draped over her legs, so she could watch her children play without being uncomfortable. He knelt down below her, with a pillow beneath his knees, as he rubbed her hands gently.

'How does she make me feel so worried, upset, emotional, and just pure happy all at the same time?' he thought as he looked into her eyes, vowing to himself that he would make sure she recovered as much as possible through the powers of love, care and emotion alone.

**Thanks for reading. Review Please : )**


	10. Chapter 10

**I thought I owed you guys a really quick update, so here's chapter 10. Review please!**

After playing, Booth decided to make dinner, while Brennan stayed in the playroom with Christine. Parker wanted Mac n' Cheese, and knowing that Brennan wouldn't be able to make it, made it himself. He brought the Mac n' Cheese into the playroom, making Parker eat it over the small table in the corner.

As he and Booth ate, Parker immediately scrunched up his nose. "Dad, this is awful. How come Mommy makes such amazing Mac n' Cheese and yours tastes like cardboard." Booth gaped at him in mocked hurt and shock. "Well, Buddy, you wouldn't know good Mac n' Cheese if it bit you in the a…"

"Booth!" Booth rolled his eyes. "Fine, butt." It was Brennan's turn to roll her eyes. "First of all, Booth Mac n' Cheese cannot bite you in the butt, it doesn't even have teeth, or human qualities of any kind. Second of all, he has a point. My Mac n' Cheese is often praised by all three of you, where as yours garners many negative reviews from the three of us. I even recall Christine spitting it out, which is really telling considering that she eats what you call, 'stupid, healthy mush.'"

Booth looked at her. "Well at least I don't feed him the mushy porridge you call oatmeal." Brennan frowned. "Parker said he liked it." Parker looked at his father guiltily and pleadingly. Booth realized he had lied to spare Brennan's feelings. He smiled at his son, before answering. "I'm sure he does, Bones, I'm sure he does." Now Brennan was confused, but she figured it was more of a father son moment, and simply shrugged it off.

"Listen, Bones you're an amazing cook, but let's face it, 99% of the American population does not like oatmeal." Brennan's eyebrows furrowed. "Where are you getting those statistics? Is there a national census that I am not aware of?" Booth laughed. "No Bones. I'm just speaking from experience." Brennan seemed to slightly accept this before retorting, "But statistics beat experience, and since you don't have any statistics to back up your statement, I win." She smirked smugly.

"That's it. It's time to wipe that cocky grin off your face." Brennan gaped. "You're the one that's cocky! Your belt buckle even says that for pete's sake. It's like you already admitted it." Booth shook his head and leaned over and kissed her so passionately, that they were both stunned into silence. Parker laughed. "I guess it's a tie." All three laughed and watched Christine as she giggled along with them, and then went back to playing and babbling nonsensically.

Noticing that it was 8:45 pm, Booth realized Angela would be here soon to pick Christine up. He saw that Brennan was getting tired, again; he picked her up and carried her back to bed, lying down with her as she fell asleep, yet again.

When she was asleep, he took Christine and Parker to the living room to wait for Angela. At precisely 9 pm the doorbell rang, and Parker leaped up off the living room couch to answer the door. Angela entered cautiously, and Booth mouthed, "She's asleep." Angela nodded, and took Christine from Booth's hands, cuddling her in her arms. Booth thanked her and Angela told Booth to keep her updated, and she left as briskly as she came.

Parker was tired, so he went to his parent's bedroom and knelt down besides Brennan. He kissed her forehead, and whispered, "Sleep well Mommy. I love you." Brennan smiled and whispered, "You too, Baby, love you too. Sweet dreams." She pulled him down weakly, but fisting his T-shirt, and kissed his cheek back. Parker trotted off to his room, and Booth tucked him in smiling as he saw his boy fall fast asleep. Booth turned off all the lights and crept into bed with Brennan, reveling in wrapping her in his arms, as she slept, somewhat peacefully.

However, this peaceful sleep didn't last long. Two hours later, Booth awoke when he felt himself getting damp. He opened his eyes and looked at Brennan. When he saw her, he knew she had hit rock bottom. She was white as a sheet, shivering crazily, her teeth were chattering and although her eyes were closed, Booth could still see the pain in them. There were frown lines on her forehead, her eyes scrunched close, her jaw clenched in an effort to stop the chattering.

Booth leaned over and felt her forehead, but immediately regretted it. "Bones, sheesh you're burning up!" At this Brennan started mumbling in her "sleep". "Bones, sweetheart, sweetie, what is it?" Brennan muttered, "Co-o-o-l-l-d-d" in between teeth chatters.

Booth smiled down at her sadly. "I know, baby, come here." He took off his shirt and placed her on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her, tightly and intertwined their legs. "Better?" She nodded, but mumbled, "still cold". Booth held her tighter, but didn't cover her with the blanket, as he knew it would cause her body temperature to rise.

When she had settled down, slightly, he decided she needed a bath and a change of clothes and new sheets. He slowly got up, smiling at her grumpy mumblings and filled up the bath with lukewarm water. 'Oh she's gonna hate me for this.' He sighed, but he knew he had to get her temperature down.

When the water was filled up, he went back out, removed her clothing and carried her to the bathroom, gently placing her in the tub. She screamed at first, and slapped at him, urging him to take her out. His heart broke for her, but he stood his ground, explaining to her why she needed the bath, and simply held her from outside the tub. He knew she understood, but he was upset when she was upset no matter what.

After a while he took her out, and put her in her pajamas, holding her while he changed the sheets. He placed her back on the bed, but didn't lift the covers back up, and she cuddled up to his side as he wrapped an arm around her and they slept next to each other, so close that their noses were touching. She was still shivering, and burning up, but Booth was okay to cuddle with her.

An hour later, Booth woke up to Brennan shaking him. "Booth! Booth! Wake up! Booth wake up!" Booth opened his eyes. "Bones what's wrong?!" Booth asked, panicked. "We have to get the watermelons! They need to go now! Otherwise the _Pan troglodytes _will get them! Quick come on!" Brennan made a move to get up, but Booth pushed her back down, confused. "What?!" Brennan tried to get up again. "You heard me! Let's go!" Booth shook his head. "Bones, calm down. What watermelons? And what the hell is a pan tragolite?"

"The watermelons in the forest! And it's troglodyte! They're chimpanzees! Come on Booth, we're wasting time!" At his, Booth realized she was delirious, and despite the fact that he knew this was a symptom of her being sick, he couldn't help but laugh. "Why are you laughing, Booth! The watermelons could die! We have to move the watermelons!" Booth forced himself to stop laughing to address his crazy, usually rational, partner. 'This is going to be a long night'. "I got it, Bones. Don't worry. I'll take care of it. You just lie back down, okay?" Brennan nodded, and gratefully lay down, as Booth left the room for five minutes, closing a few doors and making clattering noises in the kitchen, to make her think he was busy helping the "watermelons".

When he came back he saw that Brennan was looking at him, worriedly, and he whispered, "All taken care of Bones. You have nothing to worry about, not while I'm around." Brennan nodded and curled up to Booth again. "Thanks, Booth." Booth smiled at her. "No problem Bones. You just go back to sleep and focus on getting better." At that she fell asleep, and Booth kissed her, praying she'd be better by tomorrow.

It was a long night. Brennan woke up every hour or so, either with raging fevers, trouble breathing, delirious statements, upset stomachs, which resulted in heaving and vomiting, and tears. Booth was there through it all, holding her when she was cold, calming her when she was scared, holding her hair back when she retched, changing her clothes and sheets when she drenched them.

The next morning, Booth awoke, and immediately turned to Brennan to see how she was. To his relief, she wasn't shivering anymore, and her sweating seemed more cool, somehow, than the tortured, hot sweating she suffered last night. He placed a hand over her forehead, and smiled. Her fever had broken. The worst was over. At his comforting touch, Brennan opened her eyes. "Hi" he smiled.

"Hi, back, and Thanks, Booth you're the best hus…partner anyone could ever ask for." Booth stared at her wide-eyed. 'Did she almost say husband?' As if reading his mind she answered, "I did almost say husband. Lately, I've been…It's stupid." Booth shook his head. "Nothing you think is stupid Bones."

"Well, lately, I've been wondering what it would be like to become husband and wife." Booth's widening grin was contagious and Bones started to smile as well. "Is that a proposal, Bones?" Brennan thought for a moment. 'Why can't we get married? Sure, it's an archaic institution and an alpha male ritual, but I do love Booth. It's irrational, but I like the sound of calling him my husband, and him calling me his wife.' Brennan nodded her head. "I guess it is."

Booth smiled even wider. He leaped off the bed, confusing Brennan by rummaging through a drawer. He pulled out a blue velvet box and approached the bed. Brennan gasped. "I thought you said I was going to propose to you."

"I only said that because I didn't want to push you. But I wanted to be prepared for when you were ready, and now that I know you're ready, I'm doing the official proposal." Brennan sighed, but smiled, "typical alpha male." He climbed back into bed, and held her left hand, kissing it gently before he continued.

"Dr. Temperance Brennan, you are my life. If anything happened to you I would feel like I lost a piece of me, half of my heart, and my soul. I would die without you. I know I love you, and I will continue to love you forever and ever. Will you marry me?" Brennan rolled her eyes. "Since I made the original proposal, I think the answer to that question should be obvious."

"Say it anyways." Brennan kissed him gently. "Yes. Yes. I'll marry you Booth. Because everything you feel towards me, I feel towards you if not more. I had the experience of losing you for two weeks." Booth opened his mouth, but Brennan shushed him with her finger. "I realized something in those two weeks. I couldn't survive without you. I cried myself to sleep everynight. For the first few days I couldn't even get out of bed, but I realized that I had to honor you by working. So I emerged myself in my work for days trying to compartmentalize. I didn't eat, didn't sleep, didn't cry. I was emotionless. But I realized something. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't compartmentalize when it came to you, and that scared me more than anything or anyone had ever scared me in my life. But I wouldn't allow myself to cry, it would be too painful, like I was admitting to myself those two weeks were true. But I do love you, Booth. So much, and I can't live without you. So, yes, I will marry you. Did that satisfy your alpha male needs?" Brennan teased at the end.

Booth nodded. "It certainly did. That's why you looked so skinny and pale when I saw you. I wanted to say something, but you were just so mad. I realize, now, that that anger was, in fact, the passion that Sweets was talking about." Brennan frowned and scrunched her eyebrows. "Did you just say that Sweets was right?" Booth frowned too. "Ughh…darnit. It'll be our secret, okay?" Brennan nodded.

"Anyways…" Booth opened the box and Brennan gasped at its contents. Inside was a simple silver band. Except it had engraved on the surface two, intertwined blue, opal dolphins, with two small diamonds on each side of the dolphins. Inside was an inscription that read, "To my own dolphin and our dolphin calls that will continue forever."

Brennan didn't realize she was crying, until two teardrops hit the surface of the box with two pounds. "Oh Booth…" She looked up at him. "You're my dolphin, and we have our own language, so I thought it was appropriate. Do you like it? I know most women prefer large diamond stones, but I thought that would be impractical because I never want you to take it off, and a big diamond wouldn't fit under your gloves." Brennan interrupted Booth with a hug. "Booth I love it! You really do know me so well. And…I have a surprise for you, but first, can you…I know it's irrational, and so traditional, but can you put it on me Booth." Booth carefully slipped it onto her ring finger, marveling in how it fit her finger like Cinderella's glass shoe fit Cinderella's foot.

"So, what's the surprise?" Brennan leaned over to the nightstand, and reached for a white box. Brennan turned back around to face Booth, laughing at his shocked expression, and gaping mouth. "Yes, Booth. Well, you already proposed, so I guess you just have to open it." She handed it to him and he opened it. His jaw dropped at the thoughtful ring. On the surface it had a yin and yang symbol and inscribed with "We may be opposites, but we complete each other". And inside it was inscribed, "Thank you for giving me happiness, love, laughter, friendship and a dance."

They kissed each other passionately, and held each other closely, their noses touching, their arms wrapped around each other, their tears mixing, and their lives combining. At that moment neither one felt they could be happier. Brennan would be better soon, then they could have a nice wedding, become husband and wife and grow old together like both had always envisioned. "Life doesn't get any better than this" they said together, and laughed.

**What did you think? Long chapter, I know. Review please : )**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi chapter 11! Review Please!**

Parker woke up early the next morning. Being an energetic tween and falling asleep at 9 had made him wake up earlier than usual. He looked at the clock; '6:35'. It was early, but Parker couldn't sleep and he really wanted to see his parents. He pulled the sheets back and jumped out of bed, pattering across the floor, stopping momentarily in Christine's room to check on her, before entering his parents.

He smiled at the sight before him. His parents were as close as they could be to each other without occupying the same space. Their noses and foreheads were touching, their legs intertwined. Both had one of their arms wrapped securely around the other. He saw that they had their other hands intertwined, which was not unusual, but this time he spotted two glints of silver.

He stepped in closer and noticed that they were rings. He reasoned in his head for a second, and realized that the rings were on their fourth fingers on their left hands, ring fingers. Parker gasped, although barely audible, it was loud enough for Booth and Brennan to hear. They opened their eyes to see Parker practically leaning over them. At first they were confused by Parker's gasp and wide eyes, but tracing his glare down to their rings, they both blushed and realized what he knew.

"You're…You're…" Parker was shocked. Brennan started getting worried, 'Is he unhappy? Why is he stuttering like that?' "Parker?" Parker looked at Brennan and saw the worried look in her eyes, and immediately felt bad about his reaction. He reached over and stroked Brennan's cheek, before kissing it and hugging her tightly. "You're getting married!" Brennan laughed at Parker's squeal, all her previous fears alleviated. Booth watched enjoying the interaction between his fiancé and his son. "That's right Parks."

Parker squealed again, "You're getting married!" Booth and Brennan were now laughing, crying and nodding all at the same time. "Omigod omigod omigod! This is soooo cooool! You're gonna be my real mother now! This is awesome!"

Brennan stopped laughing and looked at Booth, who had also stopped laughing. "Parker, I'm going to be your step-mom." Parker shook his head defiantly. "No you've always been like my real mother. My mom works hard, and I love her, I do, but she's never had the time to play with me. I always had those memories with you. Now that you're getting married, you'll officially be my mother."

"Parker, baby, I can't just marry Booth and become your mother, sweetie. There are documents that would need to be signed…" Parker smiled. "So sign the documents." Brennan and Booth gaped at Parker. "Buddy are sure about that? You want Bones to become one of your legal guardians?"

Parker nodded. "She's already my medical proxy, and when I get sick at school they call her, too. She acts like my mother, she does what a mother would do, why not make it official?" Brennan chuckled at Parker's simple view of the situation, but Booth nodded. "You've got a point, bud."

Booth turned to Brennan. "You do treat him like your son, Bones. And I'm sure Rebecca would be fine with it, considering that she's going away for over a year. All I have to do is have Caroline and Rebecca and Judge Watkins to come over and sign the documents. They all know us, so the procedure should go quickly and calmly." Brennan thought for a moment, and then nodded. "He is my son, Booth. I guess while we're making our relationship official on paper, it makes sense to make mine and Parker's official on paper, as well."

Booth kissed her fiercely, and Parker smiled, before shouting, "Eww… GROSS!" Booth and Brennan laughed, and pulled Parker onto the bed with them and started tickling him with their left hands still intertwined, holding Parker's head. Parker started laughing uncontrollably. "STOP! STOP! DAAADDYY! MOOOMMYY!"

Brennan stopped tickling Parker, the title now striking her in her chest, and she started crying again. Booth and Parker looked at her, concerned. "Bones are you ok?" Brennan nodded, and Booth gingerly wiped the tears from her face. "Yeah, I don't know…I guess I'm just happy." Booth nodded. The three of them lay together, luxuriating in the quiet peace mixed with the warmth of each other's bodies.

Suddenly, moments later, the doorbell rang. Booth looked at the clock. 7:00. Angela and Christine. Booth slid out of the bed, kissing Brennan and whispering a quick, 'Be right back.' He went to answer the door, rubbing his eyes and smoothing his hair.

"Hey Ange. There's my baby girl." He took the baby from the artist's hands and cooed to her quietly. "Ummm…Booth, can I see Bren?" Booth nodded, still looking at Christine, and shut the door, walking back to the bedroom. Angela followed, and smiled at the woman in the bed, cuddling next to her partner's son.

"Hi sweetie, how are you feeling?" Brennan smiled back, as Angela kneeled next to her. "Much better. Last night was a rough night, but I finally broke that stupid fever. I find I'm lacking energy, still, but my breathing is much better, and I'm not as nauseous anymore." Angela nodded and reached for Brennan's left hand. As Angela held Brennan's hand, her mouth formed a 'O' of surprise.

Brennan was confused, but when she looked down, she realized and yanked her hand out of Angela's. Unfortunately, Angela grabbed it back and pulled it close to her face examining her ring finger. "Sweetie…" Brennan was both annoyed and amused by her friend's sing song voice. As Angela continued to stare, her eyes began to grow so wide, that Brennan was sure they would pop right out of their sockets, even though, rationally, she knew this was impossible.

"OMIGOD OMIGOD OMIGOD OMIGOD!" Angela's breathing became rapid, almost like she was hyperventilating. Booth laughed at her reaction, and laughed harder when he saw Brennan's face, a mixture of confusion, amusement, irritation and happiness. "Angela calm down. You're going to pass out."

Booth had left for the kitchen and came back with a brown paper bag. "Here Ange, this'll help. Breathe into this." Angela breathed in to the bag, but here breathing had barely evened out before she jumped up and hugged Brennan tightly, causing all the air to rush out of both of them. "Ange…Can't breathe." Angela quickly released her.

"Right, right, sorry. I'm just so excited. Omigod. Now I can finally organize a real wedding. It's like I'm having my own wedding through you!" Brennan gaped in horror at the artist, and started to shake her head, while Booth just laughed. Suddenly his laughing registered with Brennan. "What are you laughing at Booth? My friend is planning my wedding. You are part of my wedding, too. Do you realize how much you are going to suffer, too?"

Booth laughed more, but something registered with him. 'She said friend, not best friend.' He knew it would be insignificant to any other person, but Bones never said anything unintentionally, so he made a mental note to bring it up with her later. He was glad that it seemed that Angela either didn't care or did not notice. "Well that's the price you pay for having such an amazing wedding planner as a friend!" Angela hugged her again, before pulling back and doing breathing exercises. 'She did it too!'

Booth realized that his confusion must have shown, because Brennan said, "Booth, are you okay?" Booth nodded, but he knew Brennan would see right through him, and he was right, and it was made clear as she narrowed her eyes at him, silently telling him she would bring it up later.

Angela saw the quiet communication, and decided that she would let the future married couple have their privacy. "Well I'd better be going." She bent down and kissed Brennan on the forehead before wagging an index finger at her. "You better rest and relax, or I'll find you. Oh, and don't worry I'll be back tonight to get your daughter and maybe we can continue our planning." Brennan rolled her eyes and sarcastically muttered, "our planning". Angela turned to her. "What did you say?" Brennan rolled her eyes. "I said I can't wait." Angela nodded. "Nice save, Bren, nice save." And with that Angela left.

Parker, knowing that his parents wanted alone time, decided to go and get some more of his homework done. Christine stayed with Booth and Brennan, sandwiched between the two as they lay facing each other. "Booth…you look…confused?" Booth smiled at her ability to read him. "Yeah…" Brennan prodded him by stroking his face. "Are you and Angela best friends still?"

Brennan was taken aback; that had not been the question she was expecting. "Umm…to be honest, I don't think so, Booth." Booth frowned. "Well, why not? Are you mad at each other? But you guys seemed fine. You guys didn't have a fight did you?" Brennan stopped his rambling questions by raising her hand. "Booth. Angela and I are still very good friends. She would still be my best friend now, but I'm afraid someone else has taken that role." She smirked at him. "Who, me?" Booth asked, now feeling very cocky. Brennan rolled her eyes. "Yes you, who else would I be talking about?" Booth laughed. "Hey you made a joke, Bones!"

"I am quite amusing now, Booth. It should not surprise you." Booth rolled his eyes. "Of course you are Bones." They smiled at each other. "You know you're my best friend, too." Brennan nodded. "I'm aware." Booth laughed. "Now who's cocky?" Brennan rolled her eyes. "I always thought, though that a woman had two best friends. Her girlfriend and her boyfriend." Brennan nodded. "But you told me that there is always one person you love the most, and for me, that person is you. So you are the single most important person and my number one best friend."

"But most married women talk and gossip with their girlfriends, not their husbands." Brennan snorted. "What? It's true." Brennan smiled at him. "Not for me, and frankly, I find weird that a married couple would not be best friends. After all, Angela and Hodgins are best friends. I always talk to you first. You were the person I gave my parent's file to, the person a cried to when they left. When I was pregnant, you were the first person I told. You are my best friend _and_ the love of my life. When I thought you were dead those two weeks, I literally couldn't breathe. I realized I had started to depend on you. And after those two weeks, I was so relieved, angry, and tormented all at the same time." Booth nodded.

"I remember. You used to call me at 2 am, just to make sure I was okay, like it was a perfectly normal time to call. And then you would yell and rant for 20 minutes." They both chuckled. "That's right, and then you would coo to me, telling me everything was fine and you were here, and wouldn't leave again…I love you, Booth." Booth kissed her.

"I love you too, Bones…What are we going to do about Parker? Do you want me to arrange a meeting with Rebecca, Caroline and Judge Watkins?" Brennan nodded, so Booth took out his cellphone dialing Rebecca first, then Caroline then the Judge. All except Rebecca had agreed instantly, but Rebecca only agreed after a long talk with Parker and then with Brennan. A meeting was now scheduled at 3 pm and if all went as planned, Brennan would be one of Parker's legal guardians in a couple weeks.

**So, I know the whole Brennan adopting Parker is a little unrealistic, but I wanted it to happen, so it happened : ). Loving the reviews, please continue : )**


	12. Chapter 12

**I am so sorry about that. It seems that when I scrolled down to recieve my 12th document I accidentally clicked my ninth. Sorry : ( On with the story.  
**

**My summer work is done, which means I'll be back to writing a story every/every other day : ) Hope you enjoy. Review please!**

That evening Parker, Brennan, Booth, and Christine all sat at the dinner table, eating and talking about the event that had just happened. Parker would be Brennan's legal son as soon as the papers were finalized in a few weeks. Rebecca had been understandably upset, but knew that Brennan was the best option for a legal guardian possible.

Deep down, Rebecca both loved and resented the anthropologist, but knew that she should be happy that Parker had a constant female figure in his life, one that was smart and sweet and a good person that would be able to teach her son about the world in more ways than one. So she pasted on a smile, signed the papers, hugged Parker, Brennan and Booth goodbye and left.

Booth noticed Rebecca's mixed feelings, but was much more concerned with Brennan at the moment. Now that she was feeling much better, and they were in such a wonderful place, Cullen and Hacker had begun to request his presence back at work. He sighed at the thought, and although it was quiet, Brennan heard it loud and clear. "Booth?" He looked at her. As if she read his mind she continued, "You have to go back to work, don't you?" Although it was a question, it was said as a statement.

'How is it that she can read me so clearly, but yet she still doubts her ability to connect, to be a good mother. How can she not see how amazing she is?' "Yes." Brennan nodded tearfully. "When?" Booth sighed again. "Tomorrow. I'm so sorry Bones. But I promise I'll to stop by the house for lunch everyday, and I'll leave as late as possible, maybe 8? And I'll try my best not to be home after 6." Brennan nodded.

"You have nothing to feel sorry for, Booth. It's not your fault. It's just…It's just that I don't know how I'll be able to just sit around the house without you home. I'll be fine, I just…" Booth smiled at her; it was rare to see her at a loss for words, and he knew it was for pride reasons. "You'll miss me?" Brennan nodded, somberly. "Yes. I know it's irrational, but I just need you to be here, so I know that you're _here_. There's a reason why I can't sleep without you."

Booth smiled at her. He knew that since his "death" and his brain surgery, she had been increasingly worried about him. He noticed she would call him at random times, even as late as 2am, with a simple, "Booth?" When he asked her what was up, she would reply, "Nothing, I just…umm…" and then follow with a question or reaffirmation he knew she knew the answer to.

When they first got together her nightmares were frequent. She would wake up sobbing, clutching at his shirt, arms and chest like she was afraid that if she let go he would disappear. He would coo to her, and eventually she would calm down, and fall asleep on his chest. He would stroke her hair, and rub her back like she did when he had a bad dream.

His nightmares were quieter, even if they were about the same thing. He would wake up sweating and breathing heavily. Sometimes he would suffer in silence, as he watched Brennan sleeping peacefully. But most of the time she woke up at one of his small whimpers, and would simply hold him, as they cuddled. He loved that they coddled each other so much. Brennan was really a lot more mothering than people gave her credit for. It was just that most people didn't take the time to get to know her like he did. 'Stupid idiots'.

"I know Bones. But, listen, I'll come here every chance I get, and I'll always be _here_. Don't ever doubt that. It would take a hell of a lot to drag me away from you or vice versa. Something that I don't see happening, ever. "

Brennan looked at Booth. "But you could…" Although the end of the statement wasn't finished, it was clear what she was referring to. "And then where would I be? I couldn't live without you, Booth. You are my life. You are my heart, metaphorically speaking. You can't live without your heart, literally speaking."

Booth smiled at her mixture of metaphors and science, realizing just how much she had changed since he met her. He leaned over and kissed her. "I love you, so much." He grabbed her hand, and she gripped it tightly. He kissed her knuckles, hoping to relax her enough to loosen the grip, which was now causing her knuckles to go white.

"Relax, Bones, okay? You'll have plenty to do. You have Christine and Parker. And it's summer vacation for Parker, Bones. You know what that means." They chuckled. "And if you miss me, or want to check up on me, or just want to say hi, then all you have to do is call me. I promise I'll answer your calls, just like I always do."

Brennan nodded, trying to blink the silly tears away. "Even if it's irrational?" Booth chuckled slightly. "Of course, and you know as much as me that love isn't rational." He kissed her nose and laughed at her breathy giggle. They lay there on the couch, heads touching, legs, arms, hands and fingers intertwined, making them look like one person.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Parker entered the room. He knew they wanted their private time, and had taken Christine to the playroom, but Christine began to get fussy. "Umm…Mommy?" Brennan looked up to see Parker holding a sniffling Christine, and smiled at the young boy. "Sure I'll take her Parks. Thank you for watching her Baby."

Parker nodded proudly, and Brennan took Christine from his arms, wrapping her up in her own, cooing to her. "Shh…little girl, Mommy's got you." Parker sat down next to his mom and watched her, amazed that she was now his _mom_. Booth and Brennan brought Parker up to date on Booth's working status, and while Parker wasn't thrilled that his father was leaving, he was more than satisfied with having a little one on one time with his mother.

After a while, Parker and Booth could tell Brennan was getting tired, so Booth told Brennan to go to sleep while he waited with Parker and Christine for Angela to come to pick up Christine for Christine's last night with Angela. Brennan reluctantly agreed, and after carrying Brennan to the bedroom, Booth walked out to sit with Parker and hold Christine.

"Hey Parks? I have to ask you a favor." Parker nodded. "I need you to keep your mother distracted from missing me tomorrow okay? And watch her very carefully. She's still pretty sick and since I can't be home I'll need you to take care of her. Make sure she's in as little pain as possible, and make sure she rests." Parker nodded, taking the job happily. "Of course Dad. You know I'd do anything for her." Booth smiled, thinking how true the statement was for both of them. He wondered when both he and Parker had been wrapped around her finger.

Meanwhile Brennan was in the other room trying, but failing to sleep. She knew it was illogical, but she never seemed to be able to sleep when Booth wasn't there with her. She couldn't remember when she began to need him so much. She remembered the conversation she'd had with him a few days after she came back from the whole Pelant ordeal. She had just woken up from a nightmare and was clinging to him tightly:

"_Booth?" Booth smiled down at her._

"_Yes, Baby?" Brennan swallowed tightly, ignoring his pet name._

"_I can't sleep without you."_

"_So? I can't either."_

"_I mean, I don't want to sleep without you ever again."_

"_Oh…Well, neither do I."_

"_But it's not sensible. It's unrealistic for us to hope that we'll never sleep apart again."_

"_Oh? Why's that?"_

"_Because you and I will both have places to be occasionally."_

"_So? Who says we have to be apart when one of us goes away."_

"_Well…It…"_

"_We'll just go with each other everywhere."_

"_But what if I have to go on a tour for my book?"_

"_I'll go with you."_

"_But you hate those kind of gatherings."_

"_Not if it means us being together._

_"And what about father son trips that you take with Parker?"_

"_No reason why you can't come with us. It'll be father mother son trips from now on. Parker will love that."_

_"Oh…well what if you get sent on a secret undercover mission?"_

"_Then I'll tell the FBI that my partner, best friend, love of my life, and mother of my child has to come with me. I mean that's a lot of connections, how could they say no?" Brennan laughed at this._

"_What if you need a break from me and want some time alone?" Booth chuckled at her statement._

"_I would never want a break from you. Alone? Why would I go somewhere alone when I could have my best friend right there next to me?" He cuddled her some more and gave her an eskimo kiss._

"_What if you…?" Brennan trailed off, tears coming to her eyes._

"_Bones that's not gonna happen for a while." He shushed her coming question with a quick kiss. "I can know this because I know that I could never willingly leave you, and so I plan on dying of old age. K?" Brennan smiled._

"_I guess that's acceptable." Booth laughed and kissed her._

"_I love you Bones."_

"_I love you, too, Booth. So much. But if you even think about scaring me like you did when you faked your death I will kil…I'll…I'll…" Brennan couldn't think of anything she could threaten him with that wouldn't hurt her as well. Then she smiled. "I won't let you have pie for a week." Booth looked at her shocked._

"_You wouldn't."_

"_Oh I would."_

"_Well I guess I have nothing to worry about since I don't plan on scaring, or hurting you. Ever. Even if that means never dying." They both smiled and fell back asleep peacefully._

Brennan was shaken out of her flashback by the feeling of the bed dipping as Booth lay down, stroking her hair. "Angela just left with Christine and Parker passed out. You couldn't fall asleep?" Brennan shook her head. "You knew I wouldn't be able to." Booth nodded. "Well I couldn't fall asleep without you either." He pulled her into a tight embrace as they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

**What did you think? Reviewoholic over here. Need some reviews : )**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13! It's pretty long, but I hope you like it! Next chapter will be up tomorrow. Please review : )**

Booth was sleeping when suddenly he felt the Brennan move. When he heard a whimper, her whimper he immediately opened his eyes, and looked over at her. His heart broke seeing her sweating, her eyes clenched shut, eyebrows furrowed, causing a wrinkle on her forehead. Her fingers were now clutching his shirt tightly and she started shouting, "No! No! It can't be! Booth!"

Her screams turned into continuous whimpers of "Booth…Booth". Not being able to take it, he started shaking her awake. "Bones! Bones, baby wake up! It's okay I'm right here. We're both here."

Finally, her eyes popped open and upon seeing Booth's concerned eyes, she pulled herself into him, gripping his shirt even tighter with both hands, as she cried his name over and over again. She pressed her cheek into his chest, hoping the sound of his steady heartbeat would calm her, but she continued to sob his name.

"I'm right here, Bones. I'm right here. Tell me what you need." He rubbed her back, but she didn't stop. "Booth…Booth…Don't go, don't go." Booth felt tears coming on at her whimpering. "It's okay Bones. I'm not going anywhere." Brennan seemed to calm down after a while, and Booth stayed there holding her.

"Nightmare?" Brennan nodded. "What happened?" Brennan shuddered. "Was it a car accident, shooting, or disease?" He knew there were really only three nightmares she had, besides her nightmares of her parents leaving, which were rare now. "Umm…Pam…Noonan…You...You…"

She was trying hard to keep her control, so she wouldn't break into sobs again but it was getting increasingly difficult. Booth, sensing this, smoothed his hand over her hair and kissed her gently.

"Just go back to sleep Bones. I'm right here, and all you have to do is call me if you need anything tomorrow. Ok?" Brennan nodded, and curled into Booth, determined to get some sleep so she could take care of her two children tomorrow. Booth continually rubbed her back until her breathing completely evened out and he felt her relax against him. And he fell asleep as well.

Booth was startled awake by the door ringing. His first instinct was to hold Brennan closer, but he looked at the clock and saw that it was already 7 am, and knew it would be Angela dropping off Christine. He slowly slipped out from under Brennan, not wanting to interrupt the little sleep she was getting.

He reached the door and opened it, once again taking Christine from Angela before welcoming Angela in. "Umm…Booth?" Booth looked at her. "I need to ask you a favor Angela." Angela nodded. "Anything."

"I know you have to get to work and you have to drop off Michael and everything, but could you stay with Bones for a little while. She's pretty upset about me leaving. You know how she is…she wants to know where I am as frequent as possible, and me being away from her isn't exactly helpful." Angela chuckled a little. "Of course I'll stay. How long?"

Booth shrugged. "Until you think she's feeling more comfortable. I'll be back to check on her around noon for lunch. I called the doctor a little while ago, and he said that today she could try eating some real food again." Angela nodded. "I could stay till 10?"

"That would be perfect, Ange. So I'm not leaving for another hour, as I promised Bones, but she's not up yet. So make yourself comfortable." Angela nodded, and plopped herself on the couch. Booth handed Christine back to Angela and went back to the bedroom. He crawled back into bed, and pulled Brennan back onto him, and kissed her forehead, leaving his lips pressed into her hair.

It was only 10 minutes or so, before he noticed her beginning to stir. He kissed her head, where his lips had been resting, and squeezed her tighter. She opened her eyes, and once again they were left breathless by each other's eyes. He loved her emotion filled blue eyes, which were almost a gateway to her inner thoughts. She loved his brown eyes, which were warm and loving, and most importantly, safe.

"Angela's here?" Booth nodded. "Yeah she's in the living room with Christine." Brennan moved to sit up, indicating that she wanted to see Angela and Christine. "Woah! Hold on there, Bones." He lifted her up in his arms once again, as she still was too weak to walk on her own, and carried her to the couch in the living room. He set her down next to Angela and Christine, who reached for her mother. Brennan took the little girl in her arms and cuddled her.

"So Bones. What do you want to eat?" Brennan realized today was the day she was supposed to start eating food again. "Umm…something light. Maybe a bagel and some yogurt?" Booth nodded. "You got it. How 'bout some orange juice with that?" Brennan shook her head. "You know I don't like juice." Booth chuckled a little. "Everyone likes juice, and you need some sugar in your first real breakfast."

"Okay, fine. How about some…cranberry juice?" Booth wrinkled his nose, but nodded, and Brennan laughed at his reaction. He came back quickly, taking Christine and handing her back to Angela, before carefully placing the glass in Brennan's hands. His hands lingered around hers for a minute, while her hands steadied.

Her muscles were still weak, causing her hands to shake slightly. She was surprised at how much effort it took to do something as simple as drink from a glass. Booth noticed her struggle, and on her third attempt to raise the glass to her lips decided he needed to help her. "Angela, do you mind going and checking on Parker?" Angela recognized his trying to get her out of the room so he could help Brennan without making her feel self-conscious, and nodded.

"Ok Bones. Here we go." He sat down on the couch next to her and laughed at her quizzical glance. "Go where?" Booth shook his head, amused and moved her so she was sitting in front of him, her back flush against his chest, head resting on the front of his neck. He inhaled the smell of her hair as the top of her hair was pressed into his chin, and he placed each of his legs on one side of her. He reached around her, covering her shaky hands with his own on the cup. "Booth what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm helping you drink. It's okay." He noticed that she started shaking more, and started sniffling. He placed the drink down on the table next to them, deciding that her comfort was far more important than getting her to drink, and he used his fingers to turn her slightly, so he could see her eyes. Tears were welling in her eyes, and she covered his hand, which was resting on her cheek, with her own, grasping it tightly.

"Bones? Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Brennan sniffled again, and Booth knew what was wrong. "Bones…" he turned her even more so he could see her face better. "You are recovering. You'll get better, but it will take time. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you. You are still that smart, strong, independent woman I fell in love with. You've just had some bad lu…" He knew she would reprimand him for saying luck, so he changed his direction. "err…past days." Brennan nodded tearfully. He rubbed her back and arms for a few minutes, leaving one of his hands on her cheek while she calmed down.

Finally Brennan nodded, insinuating to Booth that she was ready to try drinking again. He picked up the glass, and gave it to her, and then wrapped his hands around hers like he had before. He helped her raise the glass to her mouth and sighed in relief when he saw her swallow. "Mmm…that's good." Booth chuckled. "Cranberry juice…Really?" Brennan laughed, she knew he hated cranberry juice, but he kept it for her because it was one of the only sugar juices that she would drink.

After the glass was empty, Booth placed it back on the table, and Angela came back into the room. "Perfect timing Ange…can you grab me that bagel from the kitchen table?" Angela nodded and brought the bagel over to Booth. With Brennan still flush against him, Booth prepared the bagel, lathering it up with cream cheese and slicing it up into smaller, bite-sized, pieces. He handed one to Brennan who had an easier time eating the small piece of bagel than the juice.

After she finished half of the bagel, Booth could see she really didn't want to eat anymore. "Okay. That's enough for now Bones. But when I come back for lunch, I expect you to eat a little more." Brennan nodded, obediently, and Angela snorted. 'He's the only one who could ever order her around like that and vice versa.' Angela handed Christine back to Brennan, and Booth, Brennan and Christine snuggled, while bring Angela up to date on Brennan's health status, and telling her about Brennan becoming Parker's legal guardian.

Finally, at 8:30, Booth knew he had waited till the last minute to leave, but he had to go to work. He kissed her head tenderly, before cautiously slipping from beneath her. She made a quiet, almost involuntary, whimper, and Booth kissed her forehead. "I have to go now Bones. I'm sorry."

Brennan knew Booth had to go, but that didn't stop her from getting upset. Booth almost chuckled at her small pout. "Ok Baby Bones. I'll call you in five minutes, to check up on you. And remember, you can call me at anytime." Brennan nodded, momentarily glaring at him for his "baby" comment. He kissed Brennan again, this time on the lips, and gave Angela a glance, which she recognized as his 'take care of her' look. Angela nodded, and led Booth out, before heading back to her best friend.

"So what's up Bren? We can talk about whatever you want. Ooh…how about the wedding?" Brennan started laughing at the artist's jumping. "Maybe a little later Ange." Angela nodded, knowing that this was a manifestation of Brennan missing Booth already, and she noticed that Brennan held Christine a little tighter.

"He'll be fine Bren. He wouldn't do anything to harm you, and one of the things on that list is him getting hurt." Brennan nodded absently, and Angela sighed, sitting next to her and placing a comforting hand on her back. "He'll be back in just a couple hours." Brennan leaned further into the couch, almost as if she was hoping that the couch would turn into Booth, and Angela grasped her shoulders.

Angela noticed that Brennan's breathing was getting increasingly irregular, and started rubbing her back. "Calm down, Bren…worrying about him won't do anything. You know he'll be fine and right now you have your daughter and your son…speaking of your son, he'll be up soon, so I'm gonna make him breakfast." Brennan nodded hesitantly, acknowledging that she probably wouldn't be able to make Parker breakfast at the moment.

As five minutes began to approach, Angela noticed Brennan getting increasingly fidgety. She laughed. "Bren! Calm down. You're acting like a teenager waiting for the boy that took her out the previous night to call her." Brennan shook her head. "This is more than that Angela. I _need_ to know he's okay. It's been five minutes, why hasn't he called yet?" Angela sighed, letting the eggs that she was making fry, while she went over to Brennan and took her hands. "First of all, he's okay. Second of all, it's only been four minutes, you should know that. And third of all, even if he doesn't call in the next minute, it doesn't mean anything's happened."

"Yes it does Ange. He's Booth. He always calls me exactly when he says he will." Angela sighed, wondering when her friend had strayed so much from her rational ways. "Well it hasn't been five minutes yet, so stop worrying." Brennan nodded, trying to calm herself down.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity to her, but was really exactly a minute, the phone rang. She reached for the phone desperately, clutching it tightly in her hands. "Booth? Booth?" When she heard a chuckle on the line that definitely belonged to Booth, she relaxed a bit. "Hi Bones. I told you I'd call you. How are you holding up? Missing me already?" Brennan almost laughed in relief. "Yes" she answered honestly. "I'm holding up okay, even though Angela probably thinks I'm acting quite irrationally."

Angela laughed, and took the phone away from Brennan. "I'll say. Booth she's been practically shaking with tension and worry for the past five minutes." Booth nodded, knowing the feeling. "Can I talk to Bones again?" Angela handed the phone back to Brennan. "Hey Bones? I'll be absolutely fine. YOU. DO. NOT. HAVE. TO. WORRY. Do you understand? I'll be back in less than four hours and we'll have lunch together. And I miss and worry about you just as much as you do me, so you have to promise to take care of yourself, okay?"

Brennan smiled slightly. "I will. I know it's irrational, but can you stay out away from other agents and away from suspects. Oh and stay off the ice rink, please. And don't pick up any clocks, or check any refrigerators, and don't get in any Taxi's. Umm…" Brennan thought for some more things for him to avoid. He chuckled, realizing she was listing all the things that were associated with times that he had been put in danger.

"Of course, Bones. I plan on staying behind my desk all day, honest. I've demanded that I be put on desk duty until you come back to work." Brennan sighed in relief. "Thanks Booth." He smiled into the phone. "Well it wouldn't be the same without you."

They both laughed, and Brennan fell silent for a moment. Booth took the silence as a cue for him to hang up. "Bones? I'll leave you to Angela's company now." Brennan grasped the phone tightly. "NO!" she shouted suddenly. Booth was startled by this reaction. "Ok, Bones. I'll stay on for as long as you need." Brennan sighed again. "Ok…okay..." She began taking deep breaths, and Booth cooed to her over the phone.

"Thanks Booth. You can go now. I'll be fine, although I am not particularly looking forward to Angela shoving her wedding plans about my own wedding down my throat." Booth chuckled at that thought, knowing how true it was. "I know, Bones. I'll see you later, okay?" Brennan nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Booth? I really, really love you…more than anything." Booth smiled. "Same here Bones. I really, really love you too…more than anything. I'll see you at noon okay?"

"Okay Booth. Bye." Booth gave her a 'phone kiss', which Brennan returned, even though it felt silly. "Bye my Bones." They stayed on a few moments longer, neither one wanting to hang up, and finally Angela hung up the phone, herself. "Ange!" Angela shook her head. "I did it so he could get to work sooner, so he could come home sooner. Neither one of you were even close to hanging up. Brennan nodded, knowing Angela was right. "Okay…so sweetie. Wedding plans?" Brennan sighed, but nodded defeated, deciding to get it over with as soon as possible. She knew Parker would be up at 10, his normal waking time when no one woke him up. He used to get up much earlier, but ever since his 10th birthday, had been sleeping more and later. She figured she only had to listen to Angela's planning for another hour or so until Parker woke up, so she gave in.

However half way through Angela's planning, Brennan stopped listening, beginning to worry about Booth again. 'What if a suspect hurts him? But he said he wouldn't go into the field today. Well, what if a suspect hunts him down and hurts him? But they have a lot of security at the FBI. What if he gets into a fight with another agent? Booth wouldn't be that stupid. Except…what about those agents who he had yelled at earlier? Would he do anything?' Brennan started becoming increasingly anxious, as she realized it sounded like something Booth would do.

Angela noticed Brennan starting to worry again, and sighed. "Just call him again, sweetie. You know you want to." Brennan nodded, gratefully, and picked up the phone dialing Booth's number. "Hey Bones!" Brennan had never been so relieved to hear that voice. "Booth…"

"Bones, what's up?" Brennan realized she didn't really have an excuse. "Umm…I just…I…" Booth chuckled. "I won't get into a fight, I promise." Brennan stared at the phone, stunned. "How did you…" Booth chuckled harder. "I know you Bones, and I know that you know me, too. I'll wait a couple days till you're feeling better before I beat those boneheads to a pulp." Brennan laughed at this, despite her worry. "I'm sorry Booth. I'll let you go now."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Bones. I'll be there as soon as I can, and we can Skype if you want to." Brennan sighed in relief. "Thanks Booth. I'll see you later." Booth smiled. "I'll see ya Bones." They both hung up at the exact same time, and Brennan turned back to Angela somewhat more relaxed. "Better?" Brennan nodded, so Angela continued with her wedding plans.

Soon Parker walked into the room, rubbing his eyes, still groggy from sleep. "Mommy?" Brennan smiled at the boy. "Hi Baby. Are you hungry? Auntie Ange made you some breakfast." Parker nodded, and Angela brought the plate of fried eggs, toast and potatoes to the boy, who ate hungrily. "So I better be going, Bren. You have plenty of company, I see. So I'll see you later?" Brennan nodded, and Angela kissed her forehead, whispered a quick, 'I love you. Take care of her.' to Parker before heading out.

Parker took his job very seriously. He fluffed the pillows of the couch that Brennan was leaning on, and asked her if she wanted anything, to which she replied, "Just you and Christine." Parker nodded, and sat next to her, as she held both her children tightly, hoping it would keep her mind off of Booth being at the office.

Soon she began to feel drowsy, and realized she would need a nap. Parker noticed the signs of Brennan getting sleepy, and noticed Christine was now asleep. He took Christine from Brennan and placed her in the crib, which Booth had moved next to the living room couch. He went back to his mother, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around her as he gently pushed her onto her side, so she could sleep on the roomy couch. "You get some rest Mommy. I'll be right here." Brennan pulled him into her, snuggling up to him, almost as if he was a stuffed animal, who offered her the silly comfort she sought. Parker obliged, and although he didn't close his eyes, just stayed there playing his video game, and reading.

Soon he noticed that his mother was gasping in her sleep. "Mommy?" Brennan was starting to sweat and shifting constantly. Parker became increasingly worried, trying to smooth the wrinkle in her forehead and brows by placing his hand their, but it didn't work.

All of the sudden Brennan woke up, but her gasping didn't stop. "Booth…Booth…" Parker took this as a sign for him to call his father. "Hi Dad? Mom just woke up from a nap. I think she just had a nightmare…she's gasping and calling for you…uhuh here she is…Mom it's dad."

Brennan grabbed the phone tightly pressing it to her ear. "Booth…" Booth knew that voice. "I'll be right there, Bones." He looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:30. He wasn't technically supposed to leave for another fifteen minutes, but he didn't care. He grabbed his stuff, still holding his cell phone to his ear.

"Booth…I…please…" Booth rushed to his car. "I'm right here Bones. I'll be there in a few minutes. But I need you to do something for me. Breathe Bones. You have to breathe." Brennan attempted a deep breath, which was both painful and useless. "trying… Booth…I…"

"I'm right here. Breathe. I'm okay. I'll see you in a few minutes." He stayed on the phone as he attempted to talk her through deep breaths, but knew she wouldn't calm down until he came home.

He entered their house and ran to the living room, kneeling in front of her, taking both her hands with one of his hands, and placing his other on her cheek, using it to manipulate her into looking into his eyes. "I'm right here Bones. Look into my eyes. Breathe. Look." He pressed her hands to his chest. "Heartbeat, see?" Brennan pressed her hands deep into his chest, using his heartbeat and the warmness of his eyes to calm herself down.

When she started breathing regularly again, Booth sighed in relief. He saw Parker's worried eyes. "It's okay buddy. Your mom just had a nightmare and a panic attack." Brennan, who was now more aware, realized how scared the little boy had gotten, and immediately felt guilty. "Mommy's okay Parker, baby. Come here." Parker came and snuggled into one of Brennan's 'mommy hugs'. Booth smiled. "So what do you want for lunch?"

"I'm sorry, Booth. I don't know what got into me, I just…" Booth smiled. "It's the first day, it's perfectly fine. If I wasn't doing work I would've had a very similar panic attack." Brennan nodded, and Booth sat next to her holding her tightly, as she brought Parker to her lap. She stayed in their embraces, relaxed in their loving arms, and vowed to not scare either one of them like that again.

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14! Sorry for the short chapter, but I'll update soon. Hope you enjoy! Review please : )**

When Booth saw that Brennan had calmed down, he stood up from behind her. "So what do you want for lunch Bones?" Brennan had been so worried about Booth that she hadn't realized that she had kept her breakfast down. She smiled when this realization came to her. "Some pasta would be great." Booth nodded and turned to Parker. "How about you, Bub?" Parker shrugged. "Pasta's fine." Booth left and started making them the pasta. Brennan used this as an opportunity to practice him being gone with a safety net.

Taking deep breaths she turned to Parker. "Parker, baby I am so sorry about before." Parker shook his head. "You did nothing wrong. I know you and dad have dangerous jobs, and I know you love each other. It's only logical that you guys would be super protective of, and worry about, each other all the time." Brennan smiled at Parker's Booth-like logic. She leant over and kissed his cheek gently and lovingly. "Thanks, Parker."

They continued to cuddle, until Booth came in a few minutes later. He smiled at the sight of his fiancée and son cuddling. "Pasta's ready!" Brennan nodded and Parker licked his lips in anticipation. They ate rather quietly, but it wasn't an awkward silence. Suddenly the silence was pierced by Christine's sharp crying. Booth hurried over to the crib, cradling the little girl in his arms.

"She's probably hungry, Booth. Can I hold her?" Booth nodded and carried Christine over to Brennan, who eagerly took the girl and cuddled her, allowing her to latch onto her breasts so she could eat.

When it was clear Christine had finished, Brennan was content on simply holding her, even as the little girl rested, but was not really sleeping. She turned to Parker. "She'll be up again in five minutes, how'd you like to go to the pool?" Parker squealed, and Brennan laughed. Brennan and Booth both knew how Parker felt about pools, so they had been sure to pick a house that wasn't too far from a pool. Sure enough there was a nice indoor pool about a two minute drive away.

"Can we go Dad, please?!" Booth smiled. "Of course, but we'll have to leave soon. Cause I have to leave in a hour, and I'm not thrilled by the idea of leaving you three alone in a pool." Brennan nodded. "Parker, why don't you go put your swimsuit on while Booth and I get dressed." Parker skipped happily off to change, while Booth placed Christine in her portable car seat and carried Brennan with one arm and the carrier with the other.

Booth got dressed first, while Brennan changed Christine, and then he came back holding Brennan up while she changed. She wore the bright blue bathing suit she knew he loved. It was a tank top and skort set, but she usually added a towel around her legs and a sweatshirt. He knew she was self-conscious, all the years of foster care abuse had taken its toll, and she had several scars on her legs, back, and stomach, so he allowed her to dress this way. He, on the other hand, was surprisingly uncaring of his own scars, and was fine wearing simple bathing suit shorts and a T-shirt.

"Ready?" Brennan nodded, and he carried them back out, laughing at Parker's anxious pacing in the living room. "Alright let's go." Parker grabbed Christine from his father and practically ran out into the SUV.

When they arrived at the pool, they were relieved that they were the only ones that would be using the pool. Booth figured this was a perfect time for Brennan to start exercising her muscles without too much exertion, but he didn't want her to feel self-conscious. He placed Christine's carrier by the edge of the pool, carefully watching his baby girl as he carried Brennan in, and walked over to the side of the pool, so he could set her down, but let her hold on the side for support.

It took her a minute to steady herself, but soon she was able to glide through the pool with ease, even without holding the side of the pool. Booth smiled to himself, and came over to her, lifting her up so she could put her legs around his hip. She rested her head on his shoulder, in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent while he played with her now damp hair. She lifted her face, and he brushed the stray damp hairs off her face before tapping her nose, as they kissed.

The calm of the pool was interrupted by a cannonball, and Booth and Brennan looked over to see Parker resurfacing. Brennan smiled, knowing that she had taught him how to do a proper cannonball. "Parker!" They both chided him together. Parker giggled. "That's what you get for doing that in front of me." They all knew, even Parker himself, that he really didn't mind, but he wouldn't be a tween if he didn't voice any objections to this kind of scene.

Booth and Brennan shook their heads, amused, and Booth placed Brennan down. She hurried over to the side of the pool, retrieving Christine from her carrier. Christine was wearing arm swimming floats, but Booth grabbed Christine's ring floater, so Brennan could relax a bit without fully letting Christine go. Brennan held Christine's arms, while the baby floated, gliding through the water. Parker and Booth were playing catch with a beach ball, as the followed closely behind Brennan, ready to catch her if her energy faltered.

**So what did you think? Let me know! Please Review. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 now up! Review please!**

After an hour of simply swimming in the pool, the moment that Booth and Brennan both dreaded came: he had to go to work. It was 1:30 pm, and his lunch break usually, when he took it at all, lasted between 12 and 12:45, but because of Brennan's "breakdown" he had taken a much longer break.

As Brennan was playing happily with Christine, Booth leant down and whispered to his son that he had to go in a few minutes. Parker grimaced, knowing his mother would not be happy, but nodded. Booth took these minutes to just observe the love of his life playing with their daughter.

She was so at ease, simply bouncing the girl up and down in the water, talking to her in what sounded like scientific baby talk, although Booth knew Brennan would never call it that. She was so incredibly loving, smart, and beautiful, just pure adorable, in that moment that he could barely breathe. 'I'd like anyone to call her cold now.' He loved how she could teach both Parker and Christine in a way that no one else could; a way that was fun, cool, and advanced. She taught all three of them things that they could never learn from themselves or someone else and he loved her for it.

What he didn't know is that Brennan was having a similar inner monologue about him. She was admiring his repartee with Parker, how he could put such enthusiasm, effort, energy and pure fun into a game as simple as catch. The way he jumped to catch the ball, and taught Parker fancy ways to throw and catch the ball. 'He's like a hulky, sweet, intuitive teddy bear'.

Like Booth to Brennan, Brennan felt that Booth taught her things that no one else could, like how to truly love someone, and be loved, and how to open up and sense others' needs. The two of them were a true match; they taught each other everything the each knew, and together they could be as best a person as possible. They pulled strength and energy from each other; they challenged each other emotionally, physically and mentally. They were truly soul mates.

Finally, Booth realized he would have to get all of them out of the pool and get to work, but he was not looking forward to Brennan's reaction. He cautiously approached her from behind, and Parker, knowing that Booth and Brennan would need to focus, took Christine from his mother's arms. Brennan turned into Booth's embrace, and rested her head on his chest, sighing softly. "You have to go back to work?" Booth nodded against her head, and Brennan sighed again, pulling strength from him.

Finally she nodded. "I'm ready." Booth brought her out of the pool first, knowing that Parker would want as much time in the pool as possible. He put her on one of the pool chairs, so she could dry herself off, while he went back to gather Parker and Christine.

A few minutes later, all four of them were properly dressed, resting on the couch. Christine had passed out as soon as she had a bath and was placed into her warm pajamas, and Booth gathered his stuff for work. Parker was starting some of his summer work. His mother was leaning over his shoulder, from the couch, as he worked at the coffee table, ready to help him as soon as he needed it.

When Booth was finished gathering all his belongings for work, he came over and kissed his fiancee's temple, smiling at her eagerness to help their son. She turned, slightly startled, and he took this opportunity to kiss her deeply on the lips. "So I have to go now, sweetheart, but I'll be back around 6. And tomorrow, I'm taking off because I have to take you to that doctor's appointment, so you'll have me all day tomorrow. K?" Brennan nodded, remembering that tomorrow was the day they were going to see how much damage the scarlet fever had done to her. She had a feeling she would need contacts, or glasses, and quite a bit of physical therapy, but her hearing seemed about the same and she was feeling much better.

"You don't have to worry about anything ok? You'll be fine, and I'll be fine. I plan on us growing old together, so…don't scare me like you did before." Brennan nodded seriously, and he added, teasingly, "My heart can't take it." Brennan chuckled at this. "Al right, so I'll be going." He kissed Brennan and caressed her cheek as he stood up slowly, blowing her a kiss before leaving.

Brennan stared at the door, and then the window watching as he got into his car and drove away. Taking deep breaths, she turned to her son. "Hey Parks, how's that work coming?" Parker, sensing that his mother needed something to do, searched his homework for a question that he didn't understand. 'Ah…here we go.' "It's going great! There is this one question that's bothering me." Brennan smiled at her son, knowing what he was doing, as she read the question, which happened to be an anthropology question.

"What is triangulation in cultural anthropology?" Brennan read the question out loud, and smiled down at her son. "Mmm…It's a nice question. So Parks, what does tri mean?" Parker smiled at his mother, loving her "teaching" side. "Three." Brennan nodded. "Very good. Well, if you want to find the average shoe size among kids your age, what three pieces of data would you want to collect?"

Brennan leaned her elbow on her thigh and her chin on her hand. "I would probably want to find the mean, median and mode so that I had as much information as possible." Brennan nodded, enthusiastically. "Excellent Parker. Well Triangulation is the belief that if you have a better, and greater, mix of data and information on a culture or society, ranging from different backgrounds and biases, then your information will most likely be more accurate."

Parker smiled, and turned back to his paper, writing down what he had just learned. "Thanks Mom." Brennan ruffled his hair, and gazed at him, as he continued to work. Although she was feeling tired again, she didn't want to fall asleep, as she feared she might have another nightmare that would lead to a panic attack.

Parker seemed to notice this, and decided on a plan. "Hey Mom, what if I call Dad and he talks to you until you fall asleep? Would that be better? And I'll go get a picture of him?" Brennan smiled brightly, and nodded. "Thanks Baby." Parker stood up, and reached for the phone and the picture that lay next to the phone. He handed the picture to Brennan, who stared at it intently, while he dialed his father.

"Hey Bones!" Parker smiled at his father's tone. "No Dad, it's me." Parker could practically hear his father's shift from happiness to worry. "What's wrong? Are you and your Mom alright?" Parker chuckled. "Of course! We're absolutely fine. You know, Dad, you should really listen to your own advice, and stop worrying." He heard his father laugh and continued.

"No everything's fine. It's just that I think Mom wants to sleep, but she's afraid to fall asleep, so I thought maybe if you…" He didn't need to finish before his father interrupted. "Yeah I'll talk to her, hand the phone over to your Mom, Buddy." Parker did as instructed, and his mother grabbed the phone anxiously. "Hey Bones, sweetheart, it's okay to fall asleep, I'll be right here if you need me, okay?"

"But Booth…" Booth interrupted. "No, Bones. Go to sleep. Here lay down, okay, and put me on speaker phone next to your head." Brennan lay down on the comfy couch and did as Booth said, and Parker grabbed the couch blanket and wrapped it over her. "You comfortable, Bones?" Brennan nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Yes, Booth."

"Okay. You close your eyes, Bones. Don't be afraid, I'll stay right here on the line, as long as you need. Until I hear that beautiful snoring of yours." He heard the annoyed grunt, and smiled to himself. "And you do snore Bones, so don't deny it." He heard a scoff, and a quick, "So do you." Booth chuckled at this. "Alright fine. Anyways…you just relax ok? I'm right here…" Brennan eyes began drooping. "Booth, can you tell me something nice?"

"Nice? Umm…ok…You are the love of my life. We're going to get married soon. You are going to be my wife, and I'm going to be your husband." Booth's tone was one of awe and delight at this last statement.

"We are going to grow old together, surrounded by friends and family. We'll continue to solve murders, as long as we can. And you'll always be that stubborn, proud, infuriatingly beautiful, brilliant, adorable woman that I fell in love with. And I'll always be that cocky, sarcastic, dependent, but hunky, intuitive, and sensitive guy that fell in love with you, and the guy who is loved by you. I would have to say that's my greatest life achievement so far."

Booth smiled at the even, heavy breathing that was coming through the line. 'She's falling asleep. That's good.' He kept going, anyways. "I love you Bones, so much. And I love being loved by you. Nothing has ever felt this good, before. And I can't wait to be your husband. And I'll be here for a long time, as long as you want me, which I hope is forever…"

He was interrupted by the soft snoring that he recognized as Brennan's. He smiled at the sound, realizing that when you found someone's snoring adorable, that's when you had to admit that you loved her. "Sweet dreams, my Bones." He stayed on the lines a few more moments, and soon he heard Parker's whispering. "She's asleep, thanks Dad. I'll call you when she wakes up. You should see her. She's clutching a photo of you like it's her stuffed animal."

Suddenly an image of a young Bones holding a stuffed animal filled Booth's head, and both amused and saddened him. "I'll see ya later Parks. Ok? I love you, Buddy. Thanks for taking care of your Mom so well. You really are the best. I want you to know how proud your mother and I are of you." Parker smiled. "And I you. I'll talk to you when she wakes up. Love you too Dad. Bye."

Parker hung up, and kissed his mother's forehead, before pulling the blanket up more, making sure she was snuggled in it. He then proceeded to take his place on the floor by the coffee table again, as he continued his work.

A few hours later, Parker felt two blue eyes gazing at him, and turned to see his Mom staring at him with a loving expression. "Mom?" She smiled, and patted the space next to her, and he immediately obliged, crawling in next to her and cuddling into her chest. "I love you so much, Parker. I just want you to know how special you are. Do you know that?" Parker chuckled.

"I do Mom, but I'm not supposed to admit it." Parker laughed at Brennan's furrowed eyebrows. "Why not? I admit that I'm the best anthropologist in the world. As long as it's true, why shouldn't you say it?" Parker chuckled. "Because, then it's not as nice when others tell you what you already know."

Parker could tell this confused Brennan further and added, "Because when someone thinks you are aware of how good you are, they feel less inclined to voice it. Like Dad is always telling you how loving you are, because you aren't as aware of it as he would like you to be. However, I very rarely hear him saying you are the best anthropologist in the world directly to you. He might say it to someone else, who doesn't know you, but he doesn't usually say it to _you_. Do you understand?"

Brennan nodded, the crease slowly leaving her forehead. "Yeah I think so Parks. Thanks." Parker smiled. "No Problem." He reached for the phone, and Brennan gave him an inquisitive glance. "I promised Dad I'd call him when you woke up." Brennan nodded in acknowledgement, excited to have an excuse to talk to him again.

"Hey Dad…No nothing's wrong, she's fine, she just woke up…Yeah she's right here…I was just explaining to her why a person never compliments someone on something they already admit they are good at…Yeah she understood…Well I used the example of how you rarely say to her, alone, that she is a great anthropologist, but you tell her that she's a loving mother…Yeah I thought so too…Sure you can talk to her, here she is."

Parker handed the phone over to Brennan, and laughed at her snatching the phone. "Hi Booth…I actually had a nice nap…Well don't get too cocky, or I might have to hit some sense into you and hand you a piece of humble cake…Oh right, smack and pie, got it. So when are you coming home?...An hour, ugh…I know it's not as bad as it could be…Alright, I'll see you in an hour…I love you, too Booth…K. Talk to you later…Have fun…Bye." She handed the phone to Parker who said a quick bye and hung up.

Christine woke up a few minutes later and for the next hour, Brennan and Parker entertained themselves by playing with Christine's toys and Parker's board games, which Brennan had a hard time understanding at first, but learned quickly. Soon they heard the front door open and close, and Brennan's face lit up with anticipation. Booth strolled in casually.

"Hey Bones!" He leant over and kissed her forehead and she rested her head against his shins, temporarily closing her eyes, letting the comfort of his presence soak in. "Want some dinner?" Brennan and Parker both nodded, and Christine looked up, garnering a laugh from all three of the other family members. "I guess she truly is a Booth, huh?" Booth laughed.

"Yeah I guess so Bones. So why don't I fix you some chicken fingers?" Brennan and Parker both nodded. "Okay, so we'll have dinner and then I think we need to go to sleep early. Your doctor's appointment is at 8 in the morning, so we have to wake up early." Brennan groaned, and Booth carried her to the dining room. Booth cooked up the meal, while Brennan and Parker discussed his summer work, and other academic subjects, and Christine was breastfeeding.

After a nice family dinner, Booth and Brennan tucked each of the children in, before Booth carried Brennan back to their bed. "You nervous about your doctor's appointment?" Brennan shook her head softly.

"I don't think so. I am a little worried about my eyesight and my muscle strength, but I think those are both fixable. At least I won't need hearing aids, and I won't be on a breathing respirator for the rest of my life." Booth nodded. "Yeah, I guess. You get some sleep okay? I'm right here." He leaned in and wrapped her in his warm embraced, and the last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the safeness she felt in his arms.

**So next up: Doctor's appointment. Don't worry I won't make anything life changing happen to Brennan, but don't expect that she won't have to do some physical therapy. Some more pool trips are definitely in the future : ) Review please!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16! Doctor's appointment: lots of decisions, hope you like! Review please : )**

At 7:30 am, the alarm woke up Booth, and wanting to let Brennan sleep a little longer, he slipped out from under Brennan and decided to get the kids dressed. He decided that since they would only be out for the doctor's appointment for an hour or so, they could all skip showers and breakfast until they came back.

He entered his son's room first, slowly sitting on the bed, and stroking his son's hair. "Hey Bud, we gotta get up." Parker's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Where are we going Dad?" Booth ruffled his son's hair gently. "Your mom's got that doctor's appointment remember? Don't worry you can go back to sleep when it's over. K?" Parker nodded, and slowly got up, blindly throwing on a black sweatshirt and black boots over his red and black-checkered flannel pants, and white t-shirt.

Booth then went back to his bedroom to get Christine ready, deciding to keep her in her pajamas for now, and wrapped her in a blanket and placed her gently in her portable car seat, sighing in relief when she didn't wake up.

Booth donned pulled on an FBI sweatshirt over his gray sweatpants and white t-shirt. He pulled out some smooth, but comfortable, black pants, a white tank top, a bright blue cardigan and some black slip on shoes, knowing that Brennan would want to dress nicely, even if it was for a doctor's appointment. He knew she wouldn't care about makeup; that was something that he loved about her. She so often went without makeup, and he thought she was even more beautiful without it.

He grabbed the clothes, a soap and water dampened wash cloth, and a hairbrush and slowly crept up to their bed, sitting down next to her. He shook her gently, and when her eyes fluttered opened, he moistened her face and neck with the wash cloth. She slowly sat up and Booth helped her get dressed before he gathered all the things he thought he might need for the doctor's, Brennan, Parker and Christine into the SUV to go to the hospital.

As they sat in the exam room, waiting to see the doctor, Booth held Christine in one arm, while holding Brennan's hand with the other. Parker had laid down, his head in Brennan's lap, on the small examination table-bed, while Brennan tenderly stroked the boy's hair.

Suddenly they were interrupted by the door opening and closing, as the doctor came in. "_Dr_. Brennan and Agent Booth, correct?" Booth laughed at the doctor's emphasis of doctor, remembering how quick he had been with the doctor last time. Booth and Brennan both nodded. "I'm Doctor Wallace. I will be conducting your examination today. So it is my understanding that you suffered a recent bout of scarlet fever…" The two partners nodded again.

"So I am sure you are aware of the potential outcomes associated with the sickness. These usually include loss of eyesight, hearing, and muscle strength, so I am going to first do a physical check up and then I will continue to check your eyes, ears, and strength to find anything that the scarlet fever might have caused. So let's get started, okay?"

The doctor did numerous tests and procedures and after a half an hour of enduring these procedures, stood up straight and addressed the pair. "So now I have finished the physical portion of my exam. It seems that all the scarlet fever bacteria have left your system, so you are physically healthy. Now I will check to see what problems the scarlet fever has caused, and we will discuss possible ways to reverse these problems. I'll start with the eyes."

Without waiting for an answer, he leaned in and shone a light in Brennan's eyes, which startled her and she held Booth's hand tighter. He responded by slowly rubbing small circles and kisses on her hand until she relaxed. The doctor held up an eye chart and asked Brennan to read the lines on the chart. Brennan struggled, but not as much as she expected.

"So you definitely have impaired eyesight, but your eyesight has not changed drastically. A simple pair of prescription glasses or contacts will do, so I'll refer you to an optometrist specialist. Now I'm going to check your muscle strength."

The doctor had Brennan do a series of tests, which included lifting objects, and attempting to stand, sitting up and down again, squeezing things and more. Brennan did okay, but it was obvious that a good deal of her normal strength was gone. After the test Brennan felt drained, and Booth laid her down, positioning her so Parker lay by her side, his head on her chest.

"As I expected, you will have to do a lot of physical therapy. This includes swimming, sessions with a physical therapist, who I will refer you to, and home exercises." Booth and Brennan nodded. "Now you rest while I get the hearing booth set up." He left the two of them alone, and Brennan took this as an opportunity to rest, as Booth sat by her side, stroking her face and hands.

A half hour later the hearing chamber was ready, and the hearing test was conducted. Brennan was bored by the activities, which included raising her hand when she heard a beep, and repeating multiple words. She was thrilled to get out of there and thought she did quite well.

"The good news is it does not appear that her hearing has been changed at all. I will send you to an optometrist and a physical therapist, and then you should be fine." Booth and Brennan thanked the doctor, and left for home after scheduling appointments to see the two other specialists. Booth was thankful that nothing too drastic had occurred. He knew that contacts or glasses would not really limit Brennan's ability to do her job, and although he was a little worried about her lack of muscle strength, he knew she was determined, and would gain it back soon.

**So there it is. I have hearing loss, so I can tell you getting hearing tests are not fun. They are extremely boring and tedious, but anyways. I hope you enjoyed. I will update as soon as possible. School starts tomorrow, but at least that means that Bones will premiere in less than 2 weeks! YAY! Review please : )**


	17. Chapter 17

**Okay, so visit from Max now! Sorry for the delay; as much as I love school (I mean it I do), I wish there wasn't so much stress associated with it. In the future I plan to update every Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and as much as possible. Again, sorry for the delay and on with the story! Remember to review please : )**

**P.S. So excited for the Bones Premiere! When are we getting that iTunes promo?!**

When the Booth-Brennan family arrived home, Parker, Christine and Brennan all went to finish their interrupted sleep, and Booth lay next to Brennan stroking her hair, face and back, content on just watching her sleep. He loved how she slept. She seemed to alternate between furrowed "thinking" brows, a frown on her forehead, and intensity shown even through her mouth and closed eyelids, and pure peacefulness.

If he had to choose, he'd probably say he loved her peaceful sleep better, because she was just so relaxed and happy, and he wanted that for her more than anything. While he found the fact that she "thought" in her dreams endearing and absolutely adorable, he wished she didn't have he need to think all the time.

He realized as he was cataloguing everything about her, that he had yet to contact Max about Brennan's illness, and immediately reached for the phone to call him, slowly slipping out from under Brennan.

The phone rang only once. "Booth! What's up my man! How are you taking care of my daughter? She's not being framed again, I hope." Booth slightly chuckled, but stopped. "No she's not being framed. She's pretty much the same, but…" Max suddenly interrupted. "What Booth? What's wrong with my baby girl?"

Booth sighed. "She's fine, Max, mostly. She got an infection and a flu and a case of scarlet fever. The fever's completely gone, but she'll need glasses and physical therapy." Booth flinched, preparing himself for the protective father's response. "WHAT! I'm coming right now! I'll be there in 20 minutes." Booth would have chuckled if the situation had been lighter.

"Okay Max, I'll let her know if she wakes up before you get here, which I doubt she will." They both hung up and Booth slid back into bed with Brennan. He continued stroking her, and as he predicted she didn't wake up when he heard loud thumps on the door. He slipped out again, and went to answer the door, sighing as he was pushed back, as Max aggressively made his way to the bedroom.

Booth followed quickly behind, and Max was startled by what he saw. There was his daughter, curled up in a ball on the bed, looking more tired than he had ever seen her look since their 3-month leave when Pelant had framed Brennan. He leaned over the bed and kissed her forehead, and sat down in the lounge chair besides the bed. "Tell me everything, Booth." Booth nodded and brought Max up to date on Brennan's sickness and their future plans of physical therapy and glasses. He also told him about Brennan becoming Parker's new mother, but decided to wait until she was awake to tell him about their engagement.

About five minutes into their conversation he heard a soft whimper from the bed, and hurried over, slipping in beneath Brennan and turning her to lay on his chest. She gripped his shirt tightly as she opened her eyes. "Where did you go? I got worried." Booth smiled a little. "I was right here, don't worry. Your dad is here, and I was just telling him about how you were feeling." He silently told her that he had yet to bring up their engagement, and she nodded.

As if on cue Max noticed two glints of silver from their hands and gasped. He grabbed Brennan's hand and she blushed when she realized what he was looking at. "I guess there's no need for us to tell you then, Dad?" Max nodded, his eyes still wide, and his mouth gaped open. "How…I mean…Wha-what…wh…when?" Booth chuckled. "You know, Bones. I think we should switch the fingers that are rings are on to avoid these interrogations. Besides, we have to do it anyways for the wedding. So the whole placing the ring on the finger thing isn't as complicated."

Brennan nodded in agreement. "I have just the thing." She opened her jewelry drawer of the nightstand and pulled out two silver chains. She handed one to Booth. "Here put the ring on this and then wear the necklace. The day before the wedding we'll exchange rings again." Booth smiled. "Bones, you know guys don't wear necklaces." Brennan shook her head slightly. "Booth, just wear the chain." They both chuckled and placed their rings on their necklaces, and then turned to clasp each other's necklaces.

"There, now our interrogation days are over." Booth smiled. "You hope?" Brennan nodded. Max smiled as he realized he had spiritually left the room as the two of them gazed into each other's eyes. He waited a minute before clearing his throat, gaining the two's attention. "That's all very mushy and all, but how did this happen and when?" Booth and Brennan both raised their eyebrows and sighed.

"Well I told Booth I wouldn't mind becoming his wife, and him being the alpha male that he is, he insisted on proposing to me, and obviously, I accepted." Brennan gave her father her 'duh' face, and smiled. "Yes I figured. But why wasn't I told?" Booth sighed again. "I'm sorry Max, but Bones has been sick and Christine and Parker are so active, we just forgot. We weren't prepared to tell you anyways, so…" Max nodded, accepting the answer.

"So Bones. Cullen called and I have to go in in about 20 minutes just for an hour or two for a meeting and to pick up some paperwork that I have to fill out." Brennan nodded sadly. "And since your father's here, would it be okay if I left you here with him, Parker and Christine?" Brennan nodded, but Booth noticed her pout, and smiled, hugging her gently. He snuggled in with her and they lay for the rest of the 20 minutes before Booth realized he had to leave.

"Okay Max, I'll be back in a half hour, hour tops, take care of her. She's still extremely weak and I don't want her doing anything without my supervision. K?" Max nodded, smiling at his future son-in-law's overprotectiveness. He went back to his daughter, who was still laying on the bed, fiddling with the ring on her necklace.

"You miss him already, don't you?" Brennan nodded. "How did you know?" Max smiled, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "You were fiddling with your wedding ring. It's what your mother did when she missed me. You know that's how you can tell if it's true love. When the other person is gone you feel like a piece of you is missing. It's like you've temporarily lost a part of you for the time being. Metaphorically, of course."

Brennan nodded. "That's exactly it. Except it's a little more than that. It's almost as if I'm afraid if I'm not with him he'll disappear, which is completely irrational." Max shook his head. "It's not when you're in love. So…" Max slapped his thighs. "When's the wedding." Brennan shrugged. "Angela said that she planned the wedding to be in 2 weeks, because that's the amount of time the doctor estimated that I'd have enough strength to walk." Max nodded.

"So what has Angela been planning?" Brennan sighed. "She has the whole thing planned out. It's going to be in a church, of course, the church where Christine was baptized. It was the first church I had ever been to. Booth took me there after he rescued me from the Grave Digger. Angela knows it has a lot of significance to me. She also knows I don't want to have a big wedding, so she's just inviting our team at the Jeffersonian, Parker, you and Russ and his family. The song that plays is going to be an instrumental version of 'Hot Blooded'"

At her father's quizzical look she elaborated. "'Hot Blooded' is what Booth refers to as "our song", although I have no idea why. He was blown up the first time, and the second time was just after I had turned him down." She glared at her father's chuckling. "It's hard to explain, baby. It's probably the first time he realized he loved you or some other kind of emotionally significant event." Brennan smiled.

"Angela sent me a picture of the wedding dress she picked out for me. Do you want to see it?" Her father nodded, enthusiastically and Brennan pulled out the text from her cell phone, and handed it to him. Her father smiled at the beautiful dress. It was a soft, cotton white dress, with blue trimmings across the breasts, waist, and bottom, and a blue pattern on the bottom and torso parts of the dress. It had a heart shaped, sleeveless top and it flowed down below her feet. He thought the combination of blue and white was fitting, and was impressed by Angela's thoughtfulness. Not only did his daughter have blue eyes, but her and Booth's personalities matched the saying, "Marry in blue lover be true" perfectly.

"Is Booth going to wear blue too?" Brennan nodded. "He's going to wear a matching blue silk collared shirt, and a black tuxedo with a blue handkerchief. Angela's going to let him choose his socks and his tie though." Max nodded, hoping Booth wouldn't feel the need to wear his usual crazy socks and tie. Just then he heard the front door opened and closed, and he patted his daughter's knee before meeting his daughter's fiancé as he entered the house. "I hear you have quite the wedding planned." Booth nodded and smiled. "Yup. Thanks to Angela's planning we'll have the most thoughtfully planned wedding anyone could ever ask for."

Max nodded, and he, Booth, Brennan, Parker and Christine all had dinner together before bidding Max a cheerful goodbye and promising to call him a few days before the wedding. Booth made everyone go to bed early, knowing that tomorrow would be Brennan's first day with the physical therapist after she got her glasses.

**So I'll update soon. Here's the Google picture where I got the wedding dress from : **

** imgres?hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&biw=1176&bih=616&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=P7gv0cd_BDLSJM:&imgrefurl= . /blue-and-white-wedding-dresses-9&docid=cm2y5uoafpRVBM&imgurl= . &w=360&h=458&ei=KChMUNjUC-n20gG4vID4Bg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=343&vpy=120&dur=2030&hovh=253&hovw=199&tx=135&ty=120&sig=112990063450332537518&page=1&tbnh=135&tbnw=106&start=0&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:81**

**Hope you enjoyed! Review please!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hope you like the fast update! On with the story!**

After Brennan's eye appointment, they were now in the glasses store trying to pick out new glasses for her prescription. Due to her lack of sight, the store promised to pick up the speed in making the glasses and contacts, and assured Booth they would be ready in time for Brennan's second physical therapy appointment in 2 days.

"But Booth I look so…so…" Booth smiled sadly at Brennan and pushed aside some of her stray hairs. "You look absolutely gorgeous Bones. And besides, if you really don't like them, you only have to wear them at night and in more comfortable settings, like with me." He wiggled his brows and gave her a charm smile, which made her smile softly back. "I know, Booth, but I can't help it. Look at me."

"I'm looking Bones, and I see nothing wrong with you. I think you look perfect in them. Gorgeous, beautiful, sexy even. Wearing glasses is extremely common. Plus, comfort is really what matters. Are they comfortable?" Brennan nodded, taking off the frames she had picked. They were see-through blue square frames, with black sides.

Booth could see her eyes tearing, and he pulled her in for a hug. "I know this is overwhelming, Bones. But I assure you, you look perfect in them. This is not a big deal. Don't get mad when I say that. You getting sick was a big deal, but getting glasses may not feel like a trivial thing right now, but soon you'll realize just how little needing glasses will affect you. So, chin up, okay?" Brennan looked confused and Booth laughed. "It's a figure of speech Bones. It means cheer up." Brennan nodded. "You could have just said that to begin with Booth." Booth chuckled. "But then it wouldn't have been nearly as fun as I wouldn't have been able to see your 'confused' face and inform you." Brennan glared at him temporarily before smiling and squeezing his hand.

Booth paid and took Brennan to her first appointment with the physical therapist. "Nervous Bones?" He noticed her fidgeting increase as they approached the building, "I just want to get this over with." Booth nodded. "You sure you want me there, Bones?" Brennan turned to him. "Of course, Booth. I need you there." Booth nodded again and smiled, taking Brennan's hand.

"Ms. Brennan?" Booth was about to correct the therapist, when Brennan beat him to it. "Dr. Brennan." The therapist nodded. "Of course. I'm Doctor Bentley. It's nice to meet you. Will you be accompanying us…" Booth nodded and shook the doctor's hand. "Special FBI Agent Seeley Booth. I'm her fiancé. Yes I will."

"Come right this way." Booth carried Brennan into the therapist's room, which was cluttered by weights, and balls, and exercising machines. "So first I'm gonna do an overall assessment, and then I'll assign you daily exercises and give you a schedule for exercises and appointments." Booth and Brennan nodded. "So tell me what your strength has been like of late." Brennan sighed. "Well I can't walk. I can sit up, and I can move, but when I want to put in effort to do something, even if it's as simple as holding a cup, my muscles are extremely shaky." The therapist nodded as he scribbled some notes on his notepad. "Okay let's start with something basic then."

He led Brennan through a couple of weight lifting and stretching exercises, which Brennan found slightly painful and reached for Booth's hand or shoulder every so often to steady herself or relieve the emotional pressure.

"Okay now for the more advanced exercises." He led Brennan over to a moveable pole on the wall and placed her hands on the pole, as she sat on the floor. He moved her up to a standing position by bringing up the pole, and Brennan released a cry at the pain that went through her legs at the sudden muscle movement. Booth was instantly by her side, and stroked her hair and face.

"It's okay Bones. You're doing great. Just a little more." Brennan nodded stiffly, biting the insides of her lips and pressing them together as she forced herself to stand, before collapsing onto Booth. The therapist nodded. "Okay I think it's a good idea that your fiancé be here in these sessions." After a few more exercises the therapist sat them down at his desk.

"So my plan is this. Everyday Dr. Brennan should swim for about an hour in a pool. She should do weight lifting and standing exercises everyday, with your help, Agent Booth. I will give you a specific schedule you should follow. Hopefully you will be strong enough to walk in a week and a half to two weeks. We will continue after that and within a year from now you should be back to your normal strength." Booth and Brennan smiled and left for home, ready to start on their schedule.

**Picture of the glasses: **

** . **

**Sorry for the short chapter. Hope you enjoyed it! Next up is the wedding! I hope you don't mind that I'll be skipping two weeks. Review Please : )**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19! The Wedding!**

Booth and Brennan spent weeks tediously working on her exercising routines, and in less than two weeks, true to Temperance Brennan style, Brennan was now walking almost as comfortably as she did before her scarlet fever. The wedding was the next day, and Angela had come to try to make sure Brennan and Booth didn't spend the night together, but knew, subconsciously, that it would hopeless. She was right.

At 1 in the morning Booth heard a knock at his bedroom door, and slowly got up and walked to the door. Without opening it he whispered through the door, "Bones, I can't see you. Angela will get so mad." Booth could hear her breathing quicken. "But Booth I really need to see you. Please? Angela will get over it; my wedding is tomorrow. Believe me she can't stay made at me." Booth sighed. He needed to see her too. "I know, Bones. I need you too…Okay." He opened the door, and squinted his eyes, trying to eliminate as much of his sight as possible.

"I'll never understand this stupid tradition. It seems to me that keeping a future Bride and Groom apart the night before their wedding is not only futile and useless, but also upsetting." Booth smiled and pulled her onto the bed with him. "It's not like this for most people, Bones." They snuggled together and sighed in contentment. "That's better." Booth nodded in agreement.

"Excited, Bones?" Brennan nodded. "Happy wedding day, Bones." Booth could feel Brennan smile against his collarbone. "Happy wedding day, Booth." Booth reached over to turn off the lights, and pulled her against his chest, burrowing his face in her hair.

Two pillows flung at their faces awakened them in the morning. They awoke with a start. "What in the world…" There was Angela Montenegro, hands on her hips eyes flitting back and forth between the pair. "You two couldn't go one night without each other. As romantic as that is, you've ruined your wedding day." Brennan shook her head. "How?"

"How? I told you! You weren't supposed to see each other. Ugh…well we'll just have to deal with this as it is. Let's get you ready." She yanked her friend off the bed, and Brennan turned back to Booth mouthing, 'I love you see you later' and blowing him a kiss, which was returned by Booth.

"There. All Done. What do you think sweetie?" Brennan looked in the mirror and smiled. Angela had added a small blue shawl, a white clear veil with blue trim, blue opal dolphin earrings, and the necklace that Booth told her he liked when she met his grandfather for the first time. She wore blue peep toe flats that were adorned with circular, diamond rings at the top. Her hair was in spiral, flowery Chinese bun, and Angela had been careful to keep Brennan's makeup light and simple with only cover-up, blush, blue and brown eye shadow and pink lip-gloss.

"I love it, Ange." Angela smiled. She was proud of her work as a wedding planner. "You ready?" Brennan nodded, and Max stepped up, taking her arm and leading her through the double doors.

Seeley Booth hadn't seen anything as beautiful in his life, and Temperance Brennan hadn't seen anything as handsome in her life. Russ and Amy's daughters had been the flower girls, and Angela was the maid of honor, and carried Christine in her arms. Parker was the ring bearer for Booth, while Cam was the ring bearer for Brennan. Booth had chosen Hodgins for his Best Man, as he it was only fair. And the Brennan's bridesmaids included, Daisy Wicks and Cam, and Booth also had Sweets besides him.

As Brennan approached she realized Booth had selected simple blue socks and a light and dark blue and white striped tie. She leaned up to him. "No neon colors?" Booth smiled. "Now that I have you I don't need to rebel anymore." They smiled at each other and Brennan felt the sudden urge to hug him, and gave into it. The priest cleared his throat, mumbling, "That's the first time I have ever seen a bride and groom do that before the actual wedding." The two smiled at each other and took each other's hands, as the priest continued.

Halfway through Brennan started fidgeting. "My gosh how long does it take to simply pronounce us husband and wife." Booth smiled. "It's very important to get all the details in, Bones. Now shush." They started bickering quietly, and their audience started laughing, but the priest was now confused. "I'm sorry are you arguing during your own wedding ceremony?"

They smiled, and Angela interrupted. "No, they always do this. It's more of a communication thing than a fight. It's really hard to explain, but trust me, no one is more in love than these two." The priest nodded, believing it whole heartedly, and continued.

Finally after what seemed like hours, Brennan and Booth heard the words that they had been waiting for: "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." They turned and kissed sweetly, aware that children were in the room. But that didn't stop them from pulling each other closer and making the kiss last for longer than was natural.

Finally they released each other, and everyone made their way out for the reception, which would take place in Booth and Brennan's backyard. Angela had their backyard rearranged, and their white gazebo was now covered in romantic lights and flowers. There was a music box and the picnic table had been moved.

While their family and friends stayed on the grass of the backyard, playing with Parker, Christine and Russ's children on the playground, and eating the snacks from the picnic tables that had been set up, Booth dragged Brennan to the gazebo.

"Booth what are you doing?" Brennan chuckled. "Come on, Bones. You know that the Bride and Groom always have their first real dance after the wedding. You're my _wife_, now, can you believe it?" Brennan nodded. "Even if I didn't I have this ring to remind me. Now, where are you taking me?" Booth pointed towards the gazebo. "I have a surprise for you."

Brennan followed him up the steps and watched as he played the music box. Her breath hitched when she realized what was playing.

There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea.  
You became the light on the dark side of me.  
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill.

But did you know,  
That when it snows,  
My eyes become large and  
The light that you shine can be seen.  
Baby,  
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray.  
Ooh,  
The more I get of you,  
The stranger it feels, yeah.  
And now that your rose is in bloom.  
A light hits the gloom on the gray.  
There is so much a man can tell you,  
So much he can say.  
You remain,  
My power, my pleasure, my pain, baby  
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.  
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?

"Oh Booth." Brennan was about to start crying, and Booth took her into his arms swaying in a slow dance-like manner, similar to how they had danced at Brennan's high school reunion. Brennan started crying, and Booth knew it was more than happy tears, probably a mixture of her being so in love that the thought of anything happening to him crushed her, and her thinking back on her time in foster care and not being happy. Booth rubbed her back cooing to her. "I know, Bones, I know." Brennan borrowed her face into his shoulder, and her warm tears were now dampening his shirt. "Shh…it's okay. I love you. Let it out. That's it."

Finally Brennan stopped crying and pulled back to look at him. "I really, really love you Seeley Joseph Booth, so you better not die or get yourself injured in anyway. Do you understand? Or else I'll…" Booth kissed her gently, effectively shutting her up. "You too, Bones, you too." They continued to sway, Brennan sporadically breaking into tears before calming down once again.

Their friends sighed. 'Yup. Temperance Brennan and Seeley Booth were so in love that no one else existed. They had a movie kind of love, one that would last an eternity unlike the frequent lust-filled love that most people felt.'

**Well? What did you think? That was a fun chapter! Review Please : )**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20! The Honeymoon! Review please : )**

Booth surprised Brennan by taking her on a special boat. They were the only ones on the boat, with the exception of their captain. After a few hours of resting, kissing, and relaxing on the couch, it was 9 am, and Booth knew it was almost time for the boat to make a special stop, which would be Brennan's real surprise.

"Hey Bones. You wanna go out on the deck?" Booth gave Brennan his puppy dog face, and Brennan chuckled and shrugged. "Sure. Why not?" Booth smiled and took her hand, pulling her gently outdoors. They were surrounded by the gentle waves, soft dolphin calls and sun and blue skies.

Brennan leaned against the railing of the boat's balcony and Booth wrapped his arms gently around her waist from behind, nuzzling on her neck and ear, as she leaned her head back for more and grabbed his head with her hand. She turned around in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him gently before burying her head in his neck, and breathing in his scent deeply.

Suddenly the boat stopped in a harbor, and Brennan turned to Booth confused. "Why are we stopping, Booth?" Booth smiled but quickly hid it by furrowing his brow. "I don't know Bones. Why don't we go see?" Brennan nodded, and Booth took her hand again, and dragged her off the boat. Her jaw dropped when she saw where they were. They were in an Atlantis interactive experience with sea creatures.

Booth tugged on her hand, and she followed behind him, in awe, as he led her through the exhibits. He took her to a dolphin exhibit and watched as she serenely stared at the beautiful creatures. "Oh I'd love to see them in the wild." Booth smiled. "Come on Bones. Your surprise isn't over." Brennan looked at Booth and hugged him, while he walked her to their next stop.

Booth took Brennan on a special boat that allowed her to see the dolphins as they jumped in and out of the water, completely free of humans. Booth looked over to Brennan and saw that she was tearing up. He pulled her into him, and she cuddled up to his side, clutching his shirt tightly, and leaning her forehead into his neck while her eyes remained fixated on the beautiful creatures roaming the water.

Booth then took her for a swim with the sea creatures, and smiled as she easily glided through the water. He knew that she was a certified scuba diver, and had actually named "Narahroon." Yet somehow, she still seemed awed by all the creatures. She swam quickly and curiously, her eyes constantly looking at different things as if she was trying to memorize everything that she saw while also seeing everything.

Then it was time for her final, and Booth though best, surprise of the day. They were walking hand in hand across the sand covered walkway, still dripping with water, and Brennan leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He led her to the beach again, and Brennan looked at him, puzzled. "You arranged something else for me? Booth, you really didn't have to." Booth shushed her by kissing her. "I wanted to. I love you, Bones." Brennan kissed him deeply. "I love you, too Booth. I have possibly never had such a wonderful day. Except maybe when we first got together, when Christine was born and our wedding." She shrugged and blushed as Booth kissed her again. He grabbed her hand, and Brennan smiled and let Booth lead her to where they were going.

They stopped, and Brennan realized what Booth had done. The sign read, "Swim with the Dolphins." Brennan gasped, and tears started rolling down her cheeks. Booth hugged her. "Oh Booth." She pulled back a little and stroked his cheek, staring intently into his eyes. "I love you sooo much. I…I…" Brennan started to cry and buried her face in his chest. "I can't even find words to describe how much." Booth stroked her back with his left hand, his right was buried in her hair. "Same here Bones. Come on let's go."

She thought this day was perfect, as she swam with the dolphins. For the first time in years, she realized, she was purely happy. Booth loved looking at the beautiful smile and sparkly eyes that captured her face in that moment, and was content taking photo after photo of his beautiful wife.

Finally Booth and Brennan decided to head back to the boat, and they stayed for another day or two on the boat, but Booth's seasickness, Brennan's restlessness, and the couple's anxiousness to see their two children, lured them back home a few days early.

**I know this is short, but I'll be updating really soon. Brennan goes back to work and more! Review please : )**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21! Hope you enjoy! I love reviews!**

Even though Booth and Brennan returned home early, Cullen and Hacker agreed to give them 2 more weeks. Booth and Brennan spent these weeks laying in their home relaxing and playing with their two children.

After the four days were over, Booth and Brennan returned to work. Although Brennan was supposed to be banned from fieldwork, Booth allowed her to come to crime scenes and interrogate suspects. He knew that she would want to do something in the field, and decided to meet her halfway until she was fully recovered, and she could come back to the field full time. Until then Booth forbid her to come with him to arrest, search and/or tackle suspects. Unfortunately, this made Brennan worried for Booth, and Angela found herself being a comfort pillow for Brennan when Booth was working.

Booth would call Brennan every hour if he wasn't with her, took her out to lunch everyday, and picked her up at 6 to go back home. Brennan was sitting at her desk, anxiously looking at her phone. It was 10:59, which meant that Booth would be calling any moment. She looked up as Angela walked in, and sat on her couch. "Angela what are you doing here?" Angela shrugged. "Just keeping you company I guess. You expecting a call from Booth soon?" Brennan sighed. "Yeah any minute." Angela nodded, and kept quiet.

5 minutes later Brennan started getting extremely worried. Booth had never been even a minute late to call her, not to mention five. She looked up to Angela anxiously, who sighed, and pulled a chair over to sit next to Brennan. She began rubbing her back. "Oh Bren. Why do you always do this to yourself?" Brennan looked up with eyes that expressed a mixture of sadness, worry, pain and desperation, and Angela softened. "There's nothing we can do, Bren, but wait." Brennan nodded, and leaned into the desk, resting her elbows on the desk and her chin in her hands, as she stared at the phone as if willing it to ring.

Suddenly the phone started to ring, but Brennan could almost sense that it was a different person's ring, not Booth's. Brennan looked to Angela worried, and answered the phone. "Brennan-Booth…" Brennan frowned when a man with a gruff voice answered. "Mrs. Brennan-Booth, this is Dr. Wilsan from the George Washington Hospital. You are the wife and emergency contact of Seeley Booth, correct?" Brennan felt her heart beat faster as she answered, "Yes. What's happened?" The man continued. "Well there's been an accident and your husband…"

The phone dropped from Brennan's hand, and Angela squeezed her arm. "Sweetie…?" Brennan attempted to stand, but her blood pressure seemed to drop with the pressure on her chest, or rather her heart, metaphorically, which she felt was now being ripped out of her chest, and she fell. "Sweetie!" Angela knelt down besides Brennan, who was now looking like she was about to be sick. Angela rushed and got her a bucket, and she emptied out the contents of her stomach.

Angela stroked her back, and after Brennan was done she started sobbing silently, her body shaking, as Angela patted her back. "Tell me what happened Bren. Tell me." Angela tried to shake her back to her. "I…I have to…We...He's…" Angela suddenly understood. "Booth?" Brennan nodded. "Alright, Bren just Breathe, okay. Breathe, slowly. Which hospital? Is it George Washington?" Brennan nodded, and Angela pulled Brennan to her feet, as she led her to her car. Angela silently drove Brennan to the hospital, and when they arrived, helped Brennan stand, by offering her, her arm, which Brennan clutched tightly.

They rushed to the desk and asked the nurse to point out Seeley Booth's room, but the nurse seemed confused. "We don't have a room registered for Seeley Booth at the moment." Brennan started to panic. Her voice and muscles were shaky, her face pale and she was sweating. "What does that mean?" The nurse shrugged gently. "Maybe he hasn't been registered yet? Why don't you have a seat and I'll see what I can do." Brennan nodded, but she could seem to sit or stand. All she wanted was Booth.

She started trembling, and Angela held her. "He'll be fine, sweetie. He's strong." Brennan started sobbing again, whispering continuously. "Please, Booth, you have to be okay, please I'll do anything. Just come back to me. I love you." She realized she was praying, and not so much to God, but rather Booth, which she would have found somewhat amusing if the situation had been different.

Suddenly she felt Angela get up, and a gentle hand placed on her shoulder. She recognized that touch. "Bones? What are you doing here?" She stood up quickly and pushed herself into his arms wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing tight. She buried her face in his neck, and her fingers started clawing at his back. She pulled back after a few minutes realizing she hadn't even really looked at him.

He seemed fine. He had a bit of a black eye, his right hand was broken, and the knuckles of his left hand were bruised. When Brennan was done accessing him, and was satisfied that he was truly okay, she turned to look at his eyes and half-heartedly slapped his chest. She pointed a finger at him. "Don't you ever do that to me again, Seeley Joseph Booth. Do you understand me? Don't you ever!" She started crying again and buried her head in his chest, muffling the sobs. Booth stroked her hair "I…I'm sorry Bones. I really am fine. I had no idea they would call you for something like this."

Brennan sighed. "Oh Booth…I was so worried. It's okay. I love you soo much. What happened? Did you get in some kind of fight?" Booth nodded, and seeing how weak the worry had made Brennan, wrapped an arm around her waist and walked her out of the hospital, with Angela, who went unnoticed, following behind them.

"It was an agent. That's all." Brennan stopped and glared at him. "It was _those_ agents wasn't it? I told you not to do that, Booth. I explicitly said leave it alone." Booth shook his head. "I tried, I really did. But they were so mean, Bones. They deserved it for what they said about you. I will simply not apologize for standing up for you. You are my wife, now. That means I will do everything and anything to keep you from getting hurt both emotionally and physically." Brennan shook her head.

"I'll let this one slide. But you are my husband, too. I simply cannot take all this worry, as far as you are concerned. You have to be more careful. Just…walk away sometimes, okay? I'm a big girl, and those things don't bother me. Well, not nearly as much as you getting hurt or killed would." Booth nodded. "I'll try Bones." Brennan took his hand, satisfied with the response, and Angela drove the two of them back home.

They walked into their apartment. It was the middle of the day, so Christine was still in daycare and Parker was at the Jeffersonian lab where he was sitting in on a class. Brennan grabbed a cloth, which she dampened and soaped, Neosporin, itching cream, and then walked over the fridge and grabbed some ice, which she placed in a two separate plastic bags, each surrounded with a paper towel. She walked over to Booth, who was sitting on the couch, and proceeded with her nursing of him. She forced him to lean back on the couch, which he agreed to, knowing that she needed to coddle him at the moment.

She gently placed one of the ice bags on his eye and he held it there while she spread some of the Neosporin over the cuts and bruises on his knuckles. She placed another ice bag there, and moved onto his cast, where she gently spread the itching cream along the lines of the cast. "I know your tendency to itch inside the cast. And, well, I find that kind of gross." Booth chuckled remembering when he had punched out that hockey guy and Brennan had barged into the guy's locker room. She had eventually looked at his had, and determined that it was broken.

After she was satisfied, she scooted up on the couch and lay half on top of Booth, half on the couch, her head and one of her hands on his chest, while her other hand stroked his hair. "Are you okay, Bones?" Brennan chuckled. "I should be asking you that." Booth smiled. "Well I know if the situation was reversed I'd feel extremely upset." Brennan nodded. "I am. But not at you. I just…I can't live without you." She added the last part in a whisper, and Booth placed his hand on Brennan's head and hair, pressing her down further into his chest. "Neither can I Bones, neither can I. Hey let's lie here a while till we have to pick up the kids, okay?" Brennan nodded and turned into Booth a little more, the relief of him being alive settling in, and she began to cry softly. Booth rubbed her back, and cooed to her, until she was asleep.

**Hope you liked that. Let me know what you think!**

**REVIEW PLEASE! Pretty please with a cherry on top? : )**


	22. Chapter 22

**Sorry for the delay, but with all the College Applications and schoolwork, I've been a little overwhelmed. Plus, I've had writer's block, so I'm going with ****babyface99f****'s idea and writing a flashback chapter. Hope this is okay and I'm going to update as soon as I have the time. Again, sorry, but I hope you continue to read, because I love all the support. Thanks again, and review if you like.**

As Brennan was sleeping, Booth took the time to think about the events that had led to his short and unnecessary, yet eventful, trip to the hospital. 'Those stupid agents' Booth thought as he recounted the way the agents had snickered and scoffed at and taunted his beautiful wife. Booth's grip on Brennan became tighter, and he kissed her head gently.

BEGIN FLASHBACK

_Booth stepped into the FBI building ready to begin a new day of work. As he approached the FBI lounge area he noticed a group of agents, the same group that he had yelled at few disrespecting Brennan, talking the same kind of nonsense._

"_I heard he married that cold ice woman. I don't know what he sees in her, anyways."_

"_Well she is hot, if you know what I mean. I would definitely, you know, with her if I had the chance."_

"_That's true, but I think both of you are wrong. I think there's something we don't know here. They're keeping some kind of secret. There's no way they could hook up like that. Maybe she's blackmailing him, or something. I don't know…" _

_Booth's fists began to clench and he looked at the agents with an iciness that they had never seen before in the agent's eyes. That look alone caused an air of silence to cross over the agents, and they leaned back with a look of surrender. _

_Booth stomped over to the agents in anger, and was prepared to punch all of them in the faces until he remembered the promise he made to Brennan about not putting himself at risk to get injured, and leaving the agents alone. So he settled for harsh words instead. _

"_If I ever hear you say anything about my wife again I will personally punch you in the face and kick your ass all the way underground where you will never see the light again. Do you understand me? That woman is my _life_. She's my partner, the mother of my child and the love of my life, and I will _not_ tolerate _anyone_ talking bad about her. She is more of a woman than any of you can even _hope_ to get." With that he started to walk away._

"_Well she hasn't been here much lately. Is she too _sick_ to be here, Agent Booth? What's the matter? The _amazing_ bone doctor is too _weak_ to protect you anymore."_

_Suddenly Booth couldn't take it anymore, and he slammed the agent up against the wall by his neck. "You _ever_ say something like that again and I will _kill_ you. Understood? She's stronger than _all_ of you _combined_." Another agent came up behind Booth with the intention of punching him, but Booth was too quick for him and smashed him into the wall. With that a major battle began between five FBI agents and Booth, Agent Shaw, and Cullen. _

_Suddenly a punch came out of nowhere and Booth landed on his head. There was a silence, and Cullen ordered the fight to stop before helping Booth up. "You know you're a real idiot, Agent Booth." Booth looked at Cullen in confusion. "What? You were just helping me." Cullen sighed. "I didn't just get married to the love of my life or get myself injured after she's had numerous, well-known panic attacks and I promised her I wouldn't get injured." _

_Booth sighed. He knew Cullen was right. "Yeah, I guess she's going to be pretty mad at me." Cullen nodded. "Damn right she will be. And she'll have a right to be. Now let's get you to a hospital for a quick physical." Booth shook his head. "No I have to call Bones." Cullen pushed him towards his car. "Not until you've been checked out. I think you have a broken wrist." _

"_But, sir, you know how Bones is. She's going to think something terrible has happened." Cullen shook his head, firmly. "Firstly, you should have thought of that sooner. Secondly, you can call her in 10 minutes." Booth shook his head. "No, sir, you don't understand. I always call Bones on time." Cullen sighed. "10 minutes, Booth. I don't care. You deserve her wrath after what you've done. I know you were defending her honor and all, but you didn't think about how this fight would affect her. What are you going to say when you talk to her? You just going to lie? Wait until she sees you to get her all riled up? No. You are going to wait until you've gotten yourself checked out." _

_Booth nodded, solemnly, and went to the hospital. After he had gotten himself checked out, and a cast put on, he was prepared to call Bones himself, but was shocked when he left the room and saw Brennan sitting there in the waiting room with tears running down her face and Angela rubbing her back. _

_His heart broke for her, and he was confused as to how she had known to come to the hospital. As he walked over to her, Angela noticed him and stood up. He placed a comforting hand on Brennan's shoulder and asked her what she was doing here. He was startled when she stood up and squeezed him as tight as she could. He could feel her fingernails clawing at his back, and was rubbing her back gently. _

_He felt the tension increase with in her as she came back and seemed to study him carefully. He knew she was checking his well-being and let her. He was surprised when she slapped his chest and yelled at him before crumbling to tears once again. He stroked her hair, apologetically, cursing himself for making her so upset and apologized as much as he could, vowing that next time he would try to control his temper a bit more and not snap like he did. _

_When they got home, he could tell Brennan was still upset and let her coddle him like she needed to ensure his safety and well-being._

END FLASHBACK

Booth could feel Brennan stirring, and Booth began rubbing her back gently. "Mmm…Booth?" Booth smiled at her sleepy mumblings. "Yes, Bones?" She opened her eyes and looked at him, tenderly placing the palm of her hand on his cheek. "Can you never do that to me again, please? That was wayyy too much for me to take. I really thought…" Her eyes started tearing, and Booth pulled her up higher on the couch so they were face to face. "I am really sorry, Bones. I know you're upset and I know what you thought, but I told you I'd never get myself seriously injured or killed, and I will not do either of those things, but you can't expect me to completely lay off if someone attacks you whether it be physically or verbally. I will always fight for you, and I'll try to control my temper next time, but I can't promise that something like that will never happen again. I can promise I'll never get seriously injured from something like that though, okay?"

Brennan nodded, and snuggled back into his chest. "I love you, Booth." Booth smiled, and kissed her head. "I love you, too Bones."

**What did you think! I LOVE REVIEWS!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Finally some free time! Hope you enjoy this next chapter! Love You All. Thanks for the support! Reviews please!**

After they had a nap Booth and Brennan picked up the kids. They relaxed for the rest of the evening, reveling in each other's company, trying to forget Booth's brush with "death". However, the next day they both returned to work. Brennan was sitting in her office analyzing some bone samples off the computer when suddenly the phone rang.

"Dr. Brennan-Booth…What?!...No that's not possible I…But…Yes, I see. I'll be there in a few minutes. Thank you." Brennan stared at the phone a few minutes longer, before dialing a familiar number.

"Booth…" Brennan's voice cracked and Booth began to worry. "Bones I'll be right there, okay. Hang on." He hung up and rushed as fast as he could, reaching her office in a record 5 minutes. When he reached her she had that face that meant that she was trying to push down her emotions and compartmentalize. However, her eyes looked sad and scared. Immediately Booth came in and wrapped her in a hug, stroking her hair and back as he did so.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Brennan swallowed and buried her face in Booth's neck before answering. "It's my dad. He's been in a…in a…" It was becoming hard for her not to cry now, especially with the lump in her throat and stomach, and although she did not finish her sentence, Booth knew what she was trying to say.

"Go get your coat, and I'll let everyone know we're going to the hospital. George Washington right?" Brennan nodded as she pushed out of his embrace to gather her stuff for the ride to the hospital.

When they arrived at Max's room, both Brennan and Booth could see that it was serious. He was hooked up to a ventilator and had tubes running everywhere connecting to different monitors. Brennan sat down and grabbed her father's hand, looking intently at his pale face.

After an hour of just looking at his face and holding his hand, Brennan suddenly stood up. "Bones?" Booth looked up as she began to gather her stuff. "I have to go. I have to…there are bones that need to be identified…I need to…the…the case…umm…I need to go…"

While she was rambling Booth had stood up and was now looking sadly at her as she paced to get her stuff. Booth knew she was trying to compartmentalize, trying to run away, but he did not want her to have a huge breakdown later, especially if she was at the lab.

As she continued pacing and rambling on, Booth strategically moved so that she walked right into his chest, at which point he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. "Booth what are you doing?" She mumbled into his chest, almost frightened. He stroked her hair and back, but said nothing.

It barely took a minute before the walls started coming down, and Booth could feel tears on his shirt. He rubbed her back harder, and sobs started erupting from Brennan. She suddenly grabbed his shirt, and buried her face deeper into his shirt.

"That's it. That's it Baby Girl. You got it. Let it out." He sat down with her still clutching his shirt and pulled her onto his lap, where she buried her face in his neck as she cried, and continued fisting his shirt, as she lay sideways on his lap.

Soon he felt Brennan relax in his arms, and tilted her back so her head was in the crook of his arms, so that he could see her face. It was obvious that she had cried herself to sleep. He wiped away the wet strands of her hair that were sticking to her face, and kissed her forehead gently, before looking up to check on Max.

He scooted closer, with Brennan still in his arms, and stared at his face. "Listen Max. You better wake up. She is not going to lose you to a car accident. You are not going to leave her again; do you hear me? I won't let you. You are going to wake up, and you are going to stay close. Do you understand?"

Booth sighed, and stood up with Brennan still in his arms, walking to the couch on the other side of the hospital room. He placed Brennan carefully down, and wrapped her in his coat as a temporary blanket. When he went to stand up again, she gripped his shirt harder, and he kissed her knuckles before prying them off his shirt. Seeing her frown, he leaned over her and pressed several kisses to her face, hoping this would keep her in a better mood.

He left quickly to the bathroom, and dampened a washcloth, and then carried it back to Brennan. He kneeled next to her by the couch and wiped her face with the washcloth, trying to remove the trails of dried tears that stiffened her face. She stirred slightly, but was too deep in sleep to fully wake up.

He then lifted her feet at the end of the couch and sat down, placing her feet gently in his lap, so he could massage them. He could still see the frown on her forehead, so he leaned over and rubbed them gently away with his fingers. He then pulled her feet up to his lips and kissed them before laying them down again, content on watching her sleep, holding her feet and making sure that she was free from any nightmares.

Soon he noticed Max's hand twitch. He lifted Brennan's feet off his lap and walked over to Max's bed, leaning over to look at his face. Booth could tell Max's eyes were moving behind his closed eyelids, as he struggled to open them. "Come on Max, come on. Just open your eyes. That's all your daughter needs from you right now. You here with her." He was muttering encouragements when finally he saw Max's eyes slowly flutter open. He ran to Brennan's side, and shook her gently.

"Bones! Your father's waking up!" Brennan mumbled before opening her eyes to look up at Booth's. "What?" Booth tugged Brennan off the couch and dragged her over to Max's bed. She looked at him as he did so, and Booth directed her eyes to Max's with his index finger.

"Oh my gosh. Dad! You're awake!" Brennan sat down in the chair and held her father's hand in her left and Booth's in her right. Booth sat down beside Brennan, softly rubbing the hand that was in his.

Max's eyebrows furrowed and his forehead wrinkled. Booth knew these signs all too well as Brennan's 'in pain' look. "Max, are you in pain? Want me to call a nurse?" Max nodded slightly, and Booth called in nurse for painkillers. Max stopped the nurse, though, when she went to distribute the painkillers. He turned to look at Brennan pointedly. However, Brennan had a hard time reading his look. She still struggled with body and facial language, with the exception of Booth's.

She sometimes wondered if Booth made a conscious effort to appear more readable to her, so she could understand what was running through his mind, or if her love for him was the reason why she could understand him so much better than most people. After all, she could read him better than anyone in the world, even Angela.

"What is it Dad? I don't understand." Max gripped her hand harder and wrinkled his eyebrows more trying to make his stare more intense. She looked to Booth with confused and hopeless eyes and he sighed. Booth rubbed Brennan's back and whispered, "Relax Bones. He's trying to tell you something. Don't think, listen." She nodded and leaned forward to look at her father better. Max nodded slightly while looking into her eyes, and then glanced at Booth.

Booth leaned into Max's stare, and nodded gently when he saw the look. "Do you understand what he's saying Bones?" Brennan shrugged. "Not really. I know it was something about you and me though." Booth sighed.

"He's saying if something happens to him that he wants you to still go on with your life. He wants you live. And that last bit was him telling me to make sure that you are safe. To take care of you." Max nodded and looked at Brennan again. Realization sank in for Brennan.

"No Dad. You are not going to die. I won't let you. I need you. I need my father and Christine needs her grandfather. You can't do this to me, you can't." Brennan was crying now, and a tear leaked from Max's eyes. "Bones. Listen. He can't control this. He's strong and I know he'll do his best." Booth looked to Max with a stern look that told him that he better not give up, and Max nodded. Satisfied Booth continued.

"However, if something happens what will you do?" Brennan swallowed the lump in her throat. "Something can't happen. But if it does…I…I have you." Booth smiled softly and kissed her forehead. "That's right you do. You'll always have me. We'll always have each other." He gripped her hand tighter in his, and leaned his forehead against hers. "We'll stay, Bones. And I'll pray. You relax."

Tears started leaking from her eyes, and Booth wiped them away. "No tears right now Bones. Not when there's a possibility that everything will be fine. You be with your father; I'll sit on the couch." Brennan nodded, and scooted her chair in closer to her father. She kissed his hand, and gently laid her head next to his arm. Although it pained Max to do so, he willed himself to stroke her hair gently.

He turned back to the nurse waiting to administer the painkillers and nodded stiffly. She pushed the painkillers into the IV, and Brennan felt Max relax, and then fall asleep. She wiped her tears again, and stroked her father's arms, as she looked over at Booth. She saw him with his hands clasped together, whispering softly, and smiled gratefully. As long as she and Booth were together, Brennan would be okay.

**What did you think? Honestly, am I being too over the top with the drama, or is this okay? What should happen with Max? Comment, suggest, review; anything is appreciated. **


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24! Review Please!**

As Brennan continued to stare at her father, while holding his hand, she turned to Booth, who was still praying. Suddenly, she was again overwhelmed with love for her husband, but also with pain and sadness. Booth seemed to realize this, and gazed intently into her eyes, gauging her expression.

"Booth…" Brennan's voice was cracked and was almost a whining whimper. Booth immediately came over to sit by Brennan. "Can you just…" She looked into his arms, and Booth recognized the look as the one she had given him when they first got together.

He smiled sympathetically and opened his arms wide. "Of course, Bones. Whatever you need. Come here, baby." She slowly stood and sat sideways in his lap as she buried her face in his neck and he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

She began crying softly as he rubbed her back. "It's okay Baby. I got you. You're okay." They sat like this for a few more minutes, until Brennan finally stopped crying. Booth gently wiped her tears from her face and smiled as she stood up and went back to her own chair. He scooted his own chair closer to hers, and gripped her hand tightly.

Brennan had calmed down considerably and was stroking her fathers' face, when there was a knock at the door. Booth stood up and answered to the door. A young man with black hair and creepy blue eyes was standing with his arms crossed against his chest.

His breath reeked of alcohol and his wrist was in a cast. He had a couple of bruises across his face and he was wearing a jewel encrusted leather jacket. Booth recognized him instantly as the guy who had hit Max with his car, but before Booth could say anything Brennan was at his side.

"Yes may we help you?" Brennan raised her eyebrows as she asked the question, not realizing who it was. Booth rested his hand on the small of Brennan's back. "Yes. I'm Carl and I wanted to see how Mike was doing?" Booth's hand that wasn't resting on Brennan's back clenched into a fist. Brennan's eyebrows furrowed, so Booth answered.

"It's Max, I don't care what your name is and you have no right coming around here." Brennan looked at him, still confused. "What's going on?" she whispered in his ear. He turned to her. "This is the guy, Bones." For a second she looked confused, but as realization sunk in so did anger.

"You Son of a Bitch!" Brennan charged at him, only to be held back by Booth. She turned and looked back at her father. "Look what you did to him! You hit him with a car!" She was screaming now, and the guy was staring at her with wide eyes, flinching at her every move.

"How could you do that?!" She charged again, but Booth was quicker. He pulled her into his chest, one hand in her hair, one grasping her arm, and wrapped his arms around her even as she struggled to get free. Her arms were bent and trapped within his arms, her hands clenched in fists against his chest, her face buried in his chest, as his hand stayed tangled in her hair.

"How could you do that?!" She repeated the phrase over and over with increasing desperation and decreasing volume. Her hands unwrapped from their fist positions and she grabbed his shirt.

"Get outta here pal, or I'll let her beat you to a pulp." The man swallowed and carefully stepped backwards. Calmly Booth lay Brennan down on the chair next to her father. He wiped her hair from her face, and lifted her chin with his hand, so he could look at her. "I'll be back in a second Bones. Stay here. Okay?" She nodded hesitantly and he kissed her gently on the forehead, before stepping out of the room.

Once out he ran down the hall to catch up with "Carl". "Hey wait a second there, pal. Did you think I would let you get away with this that easily?" In a split second Carl was on the floor blood pouring from his nose as Booth rubbed the knuckles of his right hand with his left. He knelt down to Carl, so they were practically nose to broken nose.

"That's for putting her in pain. Adding to her stress. You stay close, you hear me? I may not be done with you yet. Now you stay away from her, but make sure I can get in touch with you if I need to. Understand?" Carl nodded, nervously, eyes wide, hands gingerly holding his nose.

"That nose is probably broken. You tell anyone what happened you'll have more than just a broken nose." He picked Carl up by his collar and thrust him backwards into a wall. He flashed him his FBI badge, and took out his gun, pressing it dangerously close to his neck.

"You son of a bitch. Get lost before I kill you." With one more thrust of his gun to Carl's neck, he grabbed Carl's collar again and thrust him away. "You heard me! Get lost! Remember what I said." Carl nodded and stumbled backwards towards the emergency room. Booth nodded, somewhat satisfied, wishing he could have killed the stupid boy with his bare hands, but regained control and walked back to Max's room.

Brennan had tears streaming down her face as she looked blankly at the wall ahead of her. Booth sighed, feeling slightly guilty for leaving her, and walked over gently touching her hands that were grasping the chair's armrests. "Bones."

He was surprised when she stood up suddenly as if waking from a night terror and started pounding at his chest. Booth grabbed her wrists for a second before giving up and wrapping his arms around her again, letting her pound at his chest even with his arms wound tightly around her. "Bones it's me. It's me." She started to calm down and melted into his body, body still slightly tensed. "Shh…it's me. It's just me. It's okay."

Brennan seemed to come back to reality and she wrapped her arms around Booth hugging him tightly. He started to rub her back and kissed her head gently. "You okay?" Brennan nodded against his chest, and pulled back slowly. "I'm sorry. I just…" Booth smiled softly. "It's fine, Bones. You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I'm going crazy, aren't I?" They both chuckled a bit. "Bones. That man could have killed your father. You are allowed to act a bit crazy for a while." Brennan smiled a bit. "I haven't felt this hormonal since the day I had Christine." Booth laughed.

"That was a crazy day. I could barely get you in the car. You were laughing one minute, crying the next. Although, you had reason enough then, too. Giving birth on the spot like that." They both laughed.

"We never did anything the normal way did we?" Brennan smiled. "Well how would you define normal?" Booth pulled her close. "God I love you." He leaned his head down for a kiss." Brennan smiled. "I love you, too."

"I love you more." Brennan shook her head and chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that's not true." Booth smiled. "Maybe I love you a tiny bit more, then." Brennan shook her head again. "Nope. Definitely the same." Booth nodded. "Fine, then. Same."

Brennan nodded in agreement, and kissed his cheek, leaning against him as she watched her father. "He's going to be okay, right Booth?" Booth hugged her tightly to his side. "I hope so Bones. I hope so."

After this, they resumed their previous positions, Brennan watching her father intently, gripping Booth's hand as he sat next to her, praying. After what seemed like days, but was really only a couple of hours, Max began to stir. Brennan sat up abruptly, and nudged Booth.

"Booth! Booth!" Booth scooted closer to Brennan, startled by her sudden outburst. "What's wrong?" Brennan shook her head pointing to Max. Max let out a soft moan, and his hand, which had been laying limply in Brennan's seconds ago, squeezed Brennan's.

"Dad?! Dad!" Max's eyes fluttered open and he looked at Brennan, smiling softly around all the tubes. Brennan started crying tears of relief. "Daddy…" She leaned her head down on Max's chest, and Max started combing his fingers through her hair, despite the pain.

"Max, how are you feeling?" Max looked to Booth, and smiled. "Like I got hit by a car." He said this in a cracked voice, but both Brennan and Booth laughed, relieved. "Yeah well getting hit by a car can have that effect."

Max laughed softly at this, but his laughing soon turned into coughing. Brennan turned to Booth. "Booth, can you go get some ice chips?" Booth nodded and kissed Brennan on the forehead, leaving quickly. "Dad, can you try not getting hit by a car again anytime soon?" Max smiled softly at his beautiful daughter and kissed her hand. "Of course, Baby. Whatever you say."

Booth reentered the room, and handed Brennan a cup of ice chips, and she proceeded to slip them into her father's mouth, as he swallowed them appreciatively. Booth retook his spot next to Brennan, and they smiled at each other.

**Review Please : )**


	25. Author's Note

AUTHOR'S NOTE: While I am okay with reviews that are constructive criticism, I do not appreciate reviews that are mindless insults. I would like to address the following review:

"Not biologically related"? Really? They have the same father which means they are half brother and sister. That's biological. Poorly crafted story and charaterizations are way off. I am done with this story.

First of all, I was talking about Parker and Brennan not being biologically related. Secondly, the purpose of is to allow writers to practice their skills creatively. There is no "right" or "wrong" answer here. If there is an aspect of my story that needs polishing, feel free to tell me so. But don't just say "poorly crafted" or "i am done" because that doesn't help me in anyway. All it does is make me upset and insecure. I am sorry I have not yet reached your standards.

Thank you again to all of those lovely reviewers who have been supporting me endlessly through their thoughts, suggestions, and encouragement. I know reviewers like this are very rare, but I just wanted to point out how useless and arrogant they are. Please let me know your thoughts, and I will try to update this story as soon as I have my creative juices flowing again. Love you all, and Happy Holidays!


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